The Lorax by Dr Seuss

no time, try to summarize

and its point? I never read any Suess to my kids.

The Lorax is an ecological warning that still rings true today amidst the dangers of clear-cutting, pollution, and disregard for the earth's environment. In The Lorax, we find what we've come to expect from the illustrious doctor: brilliantly whimsical rhymes, delightfully original creatures, and weirdly undulating illustrations. But here there is also something more--a powerful message that Seuss implores both adults and children to heed.

The now remorseful Once-ler--our faceless, bodiless narrator--tells the story himself. Long ago this enterprising villain chances upon a place filled with wondrous Truffula Trees, Swomee-Swans, Brown Bar-ba- loots, and Humming-Fishes. Bewitched by the beauty of the Truffula Tree tufts, he greedily chops them down to produce and mass-market Thneeds. ("It's a shirt. It's a sock. It's a glove. It's a hat.") As the trees swiftly disappear and the denizens leave for greener pastures, the fuzzy yellow Lorax (who speaks for the trees "for the trees have no tongues") repeatedly warns the Once-ler, but his words of wisdom are for naught. Finally the Lorax extricates himself from the scorched earth (by the seat of his own furry pants), leaving only a rock engraved "UNLESS." Thus, with his own colorful version of a compelling morality play, Dr. Seuss teaches readers not to fool with Mother Nature. But as you might expect from Seuss, all hope is not lost--the Once-ler has saved a single Truffula Tree seed! Our fate now rests in the hands of a caring child, who becomes our last chance for a clean, green future.

I oftentimes feel like the Lorax of my neighborhood. Cutting down the woodlands to make room for McMansions so two people and a small dog never have to lay eyes on each other is a favorite soapbox issue of mine. We now have empty (and ugly, I might add) spec houses on cleared lots that aren't selling due to the housing crisis. In these cases the woodlands were cleared so ZERO people could live there.

Not to mention (ok, don't mind if I do...) that replacing woodlands with impervious materials (houses, patios, driveways, tennis courts, and turf grass forces the rain water to flow onto neighboring properties that are now struggling to keep from flooding.

It makes my blood boil.

Did I mention that this is a favorite soapbox issue?

Nothing makes me crazier than when people bulldoze woodland undergrowth and throw down grass seed. People do not understand the difference between thriving nature and a city park.

"Mister!" he said with a sawdusty sneeze,
"I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees.
I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.
And I'm asking you, sir, at the top of my lungs" -
he was very upset as he shouted and puffed-
"What's that THING you've made out of my Truffula tuft?"

- The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

and its point? I never read any Suess to my kids.

Suess is an introduction via phonics. My kids started reading real stuff quite early. Im not bragging, just thankful I didnt have to have that crap stuck in my head like some nonsense ear worm..