The Lorax

By Dr. Seuss

I’m including this as a poetry book because, well, Dr. Seuss is probably the most-loved children’s poet I can think of. What I think is interesting about this is that most children don’t actually think of Dr. Seuss as a “poet” – his books are a genre all their own (much like Disney movies), and generally he is just seen as a kid-friendly, whimsical, rhyming storyteller.

My child study buddy for Block A LOVES Dr. Seuss. And he LOVES rhyming. But whenever we talk about poetry, his eyes glaze over and he becomes completely disinterested. Why does this happen? Because for him, learning about poetry has never been made “fun” or “interesting”… it’s all about boring poems that don’t relate to his life. He has trouble even realizing that Dr. Seuss and other rhyming books he loves count as poetry as well. Personally, I think it’s a shame that this has happened, and as an educator I hope to try to prevent it from happening with my own students.

Back to the story. I really love this book because of the message it sends. We read it to the kids at wildlife camp ever summer because it sends a strong message about conservation, and about standing up for what is right. It also shows what can happen when people become too greedy. While many of Dr. Seuss’s books are wonderful stories in their own right, many of them also lack a “moral” as strong as this one. And even if you don’t believe that Dr. Seuss wrote “real” poetry, you can’t deny the values The Lorax conveys to children.