SuitabookThe Lorax
Dr. Seuss
- Reading
- Read the rhyme aloud, pausing to notice how the land changes and how the illustrations’ bright and dull colours shape the mood. Afterwards, discuss responsibility without requiring a single answer.
- Themes
- Environmental destruction and responsibility: The Once-ler expands a business, pollution spreads, wildlife leaves and the Truffula Trees disappear; the boy receives a seed and a responsibility to protect it. Environmental destruction driven by unchecked growth is presented as damaging, while caring and protective action is presented as necessary for improvement.
- Speaking up for others: The Lorax speaks for the trees and objects to pollution, while the Once-ler continues expanding despite those objections. Speaking up for vulnerable beings is treated as important, although the story does not explore many possible forms of collective or institutional response.
- Worth knowing
- The story includes pollution, environmental destruction, animals displaced or removed, the felling of the final Truffula Tree, an abandoned factory and a lingering sense of loss before a hopeful possibility.