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The Lorax

by Dr. Seuss

"The Lorax" is a rhyming picture book by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), first published by Random House in 1971. A boy seeks out the reclusive Once-ler, who tells how he came to a valley of colorful Truffula Trees and… more

First published 1971 · 64 pages · English

7 quotes ★ 4.35 (374,821) Classics

Quotes from the Book

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.
I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues.
It's not about what it is, it's about what it can become.
Catch! calls the Once-ler. He lets something fall. It's a Truffula Seed. It's the last one of all! You're in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds. And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs. Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air. Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack. Then the Lorax and all of his friends may come back.
The Lorax: Which way does a tree fall? The Once-ler: Uh, down? The Lorax: A tree falls the way it leans. Be careful which way you lean.
But now," says the Once-ler, "now that you're here, the word of the Lorax seems perfectly clear. UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.

Did you know?

  • Dr. Seuss said the book grew out of his anger about environmental destruction, calling it an attack on "what I think are evil things."
  • The Lorax's warning is condensed into a single word, "UNLESS," left carved on a small pile of stones.
  • The book was adapted into a 1972 animated television special that aired on CBS.
  • A 3D computer-animated feature film based on the book was released in 2012, with Danny DeVito voicing the Lorax.

About Dr. Seuss

Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-1991), who wrote under the pen name Dr. Seuss, was an American author and illustrator of beloved children's books including 'The Cat in the Hat' and 'Green Eggs and Ham.' His playful rhymes and invented creatures made him one of the best-known children's writers of the twentieth century.

More about the author →

More by Dr. Seuss

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About the book

"The Lorax" is a rhyming picture book by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), first published by Random House in 1971. A boy seeks out the reclusive Once-ler, who tells how he came to a valley of colorful Truffula Trees and chopped one down to knit a "Thneed." The Lorax, a small mustachioed creature who "speaks for the trees," repeatedly protests as the Once-ler's business grows into a polluting factory that fells every tree and drives the animals away.

When the last Truffula falls, the Once-ler's enterprise collapses and the Lorax vanishes, leaving behind only a small pile of rocks inscribed with the single word "UNLESS." Years later the Once-ler passes the story's final Truffula seed to the boy, urging him to plant it and tend a new forest so the Lorax and the creatures might return.

The book is one of Seuss's most pointed works, a fable about unchecked industrial greed and environmental destruction that closes on the famous line, "UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." Seuss said it grew out of his anger at ecological damage, and the story has become a touchstone of environmental education, inspiring an animated TV special and a feature film.

Key characters

  • The LoraxA small, mustachioed creature who "speaks for the trees" and protests their destruction
  • The Once-lerA businessman whose Thneed factory devastates the Truffula forest
  • The boyA young listener who seeks out the Once-ler and receives the last Truffula seed

Book details

First published
1971
Length
64 pages
Reading time
1 hour
Author
Dr. Seuss
Goodreads rating
4.35 (375k ratings) →
First line
“At the far end of town where the Grickle-grass grows and the wind smells slow-and-sour when it blows and no birds ever sing excepting old crows... is the Street of the Lifted Lorax.”

Movie & TV adaptations

  • IMDb
    The Lorax 1972

    Animated television special that aired on CBS

  • IMDb
    The Lorax 2012

    3D computer-animated feature film from Universal and Illumination

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    The Giving TreeAnother spare picture-book parable about people, nature, and what we take from it
  2. 2
    The Wump WorldBill Peet's picture book about industry destroying a pristine environment
The Lorax The Lorax Dr. Seuss Get the book
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