How many people don't have memories of Dr. Seuss while they were growing up? Most people (at least in the United States) have at least some exposure to his books, whether it was "To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street" to "The Lorax." It was part of curriculum or library time at most schools. Can you fill in the blank? One Fish, Two Fish, ___________. Yeah, I thought so.
"The Lorax" though has a special place in a lot of people's hearts. It was written in 1971, a time when a great majority of the people on the planet weren't especially concerned with the environment or dwindling natural resources or species going extinct, but there was Theodore Geisel trying to imprint this sort of stuff into the minds of children. But it wasn't just children, it was also adults that read this classic. I just bought a copy a couple years ago myself, as the copy I read to my children was falling apart.
Grow Calendar 2011
And the message is just as impactful today as it was when he wrote it. Maybe even more so. We hear about global warming, and whether you buy into the concept or not, you should wonder why Glacier National Park is almost out of glaciers. I mean, something has to be happening when we may have to consider changing the name of a park to reflect the new reality.
And the message towards the end of the book is applicable to anyone on either side of the climate change issue. (Or any issue really.) "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." It's a message of personal responsibility, which everyone needs to take to heart. I have always emphasized this message to my children and led by example in volunteering and donating money to causes that touched my heart and soul.
All that thanks for Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel. His whimsical rhyming style and his nonsensical rhetoric made reading these books a pleasure and elicited squeals of delight from my children with their punderful wit. Thinking was a bonus.
Dr Seuss - Growing Up, Reading Out Loud to Children and Running Amok Grow Calendar 2011
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