The Lorax By: Dr. Suess

Prior to this class I had never heard of the book The Lorax by: Dr. Suess. After I read it, I was in love with it. This book teaches a great lesson about taking care of the Earth. The book tells the story of the Once-ler who made Thneeds from all of the resources in the environment. The Lorax continued to warn of him of the harm he was doing to the beautiful area, but he didn't listen. He would reply, "Business is business!...and business must grow..." (Suess, 1971). The Once-ler continued to pollute the environment by running his business so he could make lots of money. This book focuses on the greediness of business owners to make money at whatever cost to the environment and others. This tale was beyond its time, and was not well received. However, in the day where "going-green" is the hip thing to do, this book would be a hit.

I plan on purchasing this book for my own classroom. I think that it offers a wonderful example of how quickly we can affect the environment around us. I also think that my students would enjoy it as much as I did. The book spreads a great lesson of how one person can make a difference in the world.

The Lorax is a didactic book because it focuses on teaching a lesson which is what didactic means. The book is designed to teach the reader that one person can change the world around them either in a positive or negative way. In the book the reader is taught that one person can stand up to make a change to make the world a better place. Even though it only took the Once-ler (one person) to destroy and pollute the environment around him, it would only take the child planting a new seed to bring the environment back to normal again. This book teaches the reader that it is important to take care of the world around him/her.

Didactic books are being published today because society now supports teaching lessons through literature. Teaching children about taking care of the environment is a popular theme in books today. For example, there is now a set of books called Little Green Books which teach about environmental issues. Not to mention, the books in the series are made from recycled paper. The book stores and libraries are full of books today designed to teach children lessons for leading better lives. Every Berenstain Bear book you read is dripping with morals and values to learn. Each book outlines a new lesson to be learned about friendship, manners, environmental awareness, and more. Another book that comes to mind is Giraffes Can't Dance by: Giles Andreae. This book helps children learn to be themselves and never give up because other's do not believe in them. Children are surrounded with positive materials such as these to help them grow and learn through literature.