The Lorax - wikipedia The Lorax This article is about the children 's book by Dr. Seuss. For other uses, see Lorax ( disambiguation ). The Lorax Author Dr. Seuss Country United States Language English Genre Children 's literature Publisher Random House Publication date 1971 Pages 45 ISBN 0 - 394 - 82337 - 0 OCLC 183127 Dewey Decimal ( E ) LC Class PZ8. 3. G276 Lo Preceded by `` I Can Write -- By Me, Myself '' Followed by `` Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now ! '' The Lorax is a children 's book written by Dr. Seuss and first published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax, who speaks for the trees against the Once - ler. As in most Dr. Seuss works, most of the creatures mentioned are original to the book. The book is commonly recognized as a fable concerning the danger corporate greed poses to nature, using the literary element of personification to give life to industry as the Once - ler and the environment as The Lorax. The Lorax was Dr. Seuss ' personal favorite of his books. He was able to create a story addressing economic and environmental issues without it being dull. `` The Lorax, '' he once explained, `` came out of me being angry. In The Lorax I was out to attack what I think are evil things and let the chips fall where they might. '' Contents 1 Plot 2 Reception 3 Controversy 4 Adaptations 4.1 1972 television special 4.2 2012 feature film 4.3 Audio books 4.4 Musical 5 See also 6 References Plot A boy living in a polluted area visits a strange isolated man called the Once - ler on the Street of the Lifted Lorax. The boy pays the Once - ler fifteen cents, a nail, and the shell of a great - great - great grandfather snail to hear the legend of how the Lorax was lifted away. The Once - ler tells the boy of his arrival in a beautiful valley containing a forest of Truffula trees and a range of animals. The Once - ler, having long searched for such a tree as the Truffula, chops one down and uses its silk - like foliage to knit a Thneed, an impossibly versatile garment. The Lorax, who `` speaks for the trees '' as they have no tongues, emerges from the stump of the Truffula and voices his disapproval both of the sacrifice of the tree and of the Thneed itself. However, the first other person to happen by purchases the Thneed for $3.98, so the Once - ler is encouraged and starts a business making and selling Thneeds. The Once - ler 's small shop soon grows into a factory. The Once - ler 's relatives all come to work for him and new vehicles and equipment are brought in to log the Truffula forest and ship out Thneeds. The Lorax appears again to report that the small bear - like Bar - ba - loots, who eat Truffula fruits, are short of food and must be sent away to find more. The Lorax later returns to complain that the factory has polluted the air and the water, forcing the Swomee - Swans and Humming - Fish to migrate as well. The Once - ler is unrepentant and defiantly tells the Lorax that he will keep on `` biggering '' his business, but at that moment one of his machines fells the very last Truffula tree. Without raw materials, the factory shuts down and the Once - ler 's relatives leave. The Lorax says nothing but with one sad backward glance lifts himself into the air ( `` by the seat of his pants '' ) and disappears behind the smoggy clouds. Where he last stood is a small monument engraved with a single word : `` UNLESS ''. The Once - ler ponders the message for years, in solitude and self - imposed exile. In the present, his buildings falling apart around him, the Once - ler at last realizes out loud what the Lorax meant : `` unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It 's not. '' He then gives the boy the last Truffula seed and urges him to grow a forest from it, saying that if the trees can be protected from logging then the Lorax and all the animals may return. Reception Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association named The Lorax one of its `` Teachers ' Top 100 Books for Children ''. In 2012 it was ranked number 33 among the `` Top 100 Picture Books '' in a survey published by School Library Journal -- the second of five Dr. Seuss books on the list. In a retrospective critique written in the journal Nature in 2011 upon the 40th anniversary of the book 's publication, Emma Marris described the Lorax character as a `` parody of a misanthropic ecologist ''. She called the book `` gloomy '' and expressed skepticism that its message would resonate with small children in the manner intended. Nevertheless, she praised the book as effective in conveying the consequences of ecological destruction in a way that young children will understand. Controversy In 1988, a small school district in California kept the book on a reading list for second graders, though some in the town claimed the book was unfair to the logging industry. Terri Birkett, a member of a family - owned hardwood flooring factory, authored The Truax, offering a logging - friendly perspective to an anthropomorphic tree known as the Guardbark. This book was published by the National Oak Flooring Manufacturers ' Association ( NOFMA ). Just as in The Lorax, the book consists of a disagreement between two people. The logging industry representative states that they have efficiency and re-seeding efforts. The Guardbark, a personification of the environmentalist movement much as the Once - ler is for big business, refuses to listen and lashes out. But in the end, he is convinced by the logger 's arguments. However, this story was criticized for what were viewed as skewed arguments and clear self - interest, particularly a `` casual attitude toward endangered species '' that answered the Guardbark 's concern for them. In addition, the book 's approach as a more blatant argument, rather than one worked into a storyline, was also noted. The line `` I hear things are just as bad up in Lake Erie '' was removed more than fourteen years after the story was published, after two research associates from the Ohio Sea Grant Program wrote to Seuss about the clean - up of Lake Erie. The line remains in the home video releases of the television special. Adaptations 1972 television special Main article : The Lorax ( TV special ) The book was adapted as an animated musical television special produced by DePatie - Freleng Enterprises, directed by Hawley Pratt and starring the voices of Eddie Albert and Bob Holt. It was first aired by CBS on February 14, 1972. A reference to pollution of Lake Erie was spoken by one of the Humming - Fish as they depart ; it remains in DVD releases of the show, although later removed from the book. The special also shows the Once - ler arguing with himself, and asking the Lorax whether shutting down his factory ( thus putting hundreds of people out of work ) is practical. An abridged version of the special is used in the 1994 TV movie In Search of Dr. Seuss, with Kathy Najimy 's reporter character hearing the Once - ler 's story. 2012 feature film Main article : The Lorax ( film ) On March 2, 2012, Universal Studios and Illumination Entertainment released a 3 - D CGI film based upon the book. The release coincided with the 108th birthday of Seuss, who died at 87 in 1991. The cast includes Danny DeVito as the Lorax, Zac Efron as Ted ( the boy in the book ), and Ed Helms as the Once - ler. The film includes several new characters : Rob Riggle as villain Aloysius O'Hare, Betty White as Ted 's Grammy Norma, and Taylor Swift as Audrey, Ted 's romantic interest. The film debuted in the # 1 spot at the box office, making $70 million, though it received mixed reviews. The film eventually grossed a domestic total of $214,030,500. Audio books Two audio readings have been released on CD, one narrated by Ted Danson in the United States ( Listening Library, ISBN 978 - 0 - 8072 - 1873 - 0 ) and one narrated by Rik Mayall in the United Kingdom ( HarperCollins, ISBN 978 - 0 - 00 - 715705 - 1 ). Musical A musical adaptation of The Lorax was originally included in script for the Broadway musical Seussical, but was cut before the show opened. From 2 December 2015 to 16 January 2016, a musical version of the book ran at the Old Vic theatre in London. With former Noah And The Whale frontman, Charlie Fink, who wrote the music for the production. See also Revegetation References ^ Jump up to : Bird, Elizabeth ( July 6, 2012 ). `` Top 100 Picture Books Poll Results ''. A Fuse # 8 Production. Blog. School Library Journal ( blog.schoollibraryjournal.com ). Retrieved August 22, 2012. Jump up ^ Lisa Lebduska. `` Rethinking Human Need : Seuss 's The Lorax. '' Children 's Literature Association Quarterly 19.4 ( 1994 ) : 170 - 176. Project MUSE. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. < http://muse.jhu.edu/ >. Jump up ^ National Education Association ( 2007 ). `` Teachers ' Top 100 Books for Children ''. Retrieved August 22, 2012. Jump up ^ In retrospect : The Lorax. Marris, E. 2011. Nature. 476 : 147 -- 149. Jump up ^ `` California : Chopping Down Dr. Seuss ''. Time. October 02, 1989. Jump up ^ http://people.com/archive/a-boy-sides-with-dr-seusss-lorax-and-puts-a-town-at-loggerheads-vol-32-no-17/ Jump up ^ `` Truax ''. Terri Birkett. National Oak Flooring Manufacturers ' Association ( NOFMA ) Environmental Committee. ( PDF ). Jump up ^ `` The People - Centered Development Forum - Living Economies Forum ''. Retrieved January 18, 2017. Jump up ^ `` What 's A Truax ? Well I 'm So Glad You Asked, Let Me Tell You ! - Ann Arbor District Library ''. Retrieved January 18, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Green Eggs & Sham ? 10 / 16 / 2001. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. `` According to Terri Birkett, a popular Dr. Seuss character is being used to teach children to hate the wood products industry. ''. Jump up ^ `` Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel : a biography ''. Judith & Neil Morgan. Random House. 1995. ISBN 978 - 0 - 679 - 41686 - 9. Jump up ^ The Lorax at Box Office Mojo Jump up ^ Jones, Kenneth ( June 1, 2007 ). `` Ahrens & Flaherty Double Bill of Musicals Pairs Lorax and Emperor 's New Clothes ''. Playbill. Retrieved December 26, 2014. Jump up ^ http://www.oldvictheatre.com/whats-on/2015/dr.-seusss-the-lorax/ Dr. Seuss Characters The Cat in the Hat The Grinch Horton the Elephant Bartholomew Cubbins Bibliography And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins The King 's Stilts The Seven Lady Godivas Horton Hatches the Egg McElligot 's Pool Thidwick the Big - Hearted Moose Bartholomew and the Oobleck If I Ran the Zoo Scrambled Eggs Super ! Horton Hears a Who ! On Beyond Zebra ! If I Ran the Circus How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! The Cat in the Hat The Cat in the Hat Comes Back Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories Happy Birthday to You ! Green Eggs and Ham One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish The Sneetches and Other Stories Dr. Seuss 's Sleep Book Dr. Seuss 's ABC Fox in Socks Hop on Pop I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew Come over to My House The Foot Book I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today ! and Other Stories Mr. Brown Can Moo ! Can You ? : Dr. Seuss 's Book of Wonderful Noises ! The Lorax Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now ! Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are ? Wacky Wednesday Great Day for Up ! Oh, the Thinks You Can Think ! The Cat 's Quizzer I Can Read with My Eyes Shut ! Oh Say Can You Say ? The Butter Battle Book You 're Only Old Once ! Oh, the Places You 'll Go ! There 's a Wocket in My Pocket I Wish That I Had Duck Feet Daisy - Head Mayzie My Many Colored Days Hooray for Diffendoofer Day ! The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories What Pet Should I Get ? Adaptations Television The Gerald McBoing - Boing Show ( 1956 -- 57 ) Dr. Seuss ' How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! ( 1966 ) Horton Hears a Who ! ( 1970 ) The Cat in the Hat ( 1971 ) The Lorax ( 1972 ) Dr. Seuss on the Loose ( 1973 ) The Hoober - Bloob Highway ( 1975 ) Halloween Is Grinch Night ( 1977 ) Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You ? ( 1980 ) The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat ( 1982 ) The Butter Battle Book ( 1989 ) In Search of Dr. Seuss ( 1994 ) Daisy - Head Mayzie ( 1995 ) The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss ( 1996 -- 98 ) Gerald McBoing - Boing ( 2005 -- 07 ) The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That ! ( 2010 -- present ) Green Eggs and Ham ( 2018 ) Film Horton Hatches the Egg ( short ; 1942 ) Gerald McBoing - Boing ( short ; 1950 ) How the Grinch Stole Christmas ( 2000 ) The Cat in the Hat ( 2003 ) Horton Hears a Who ! ( 2008 ) The Lorax ( 2012 ) How the Grinch Stole Christmas ( 2018 ) Other media Welcome ( Russian short film ) Seussical ( musical ) Dr. Seuss ' How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! The Musical The Grinch ( video game ) Dr. Seuss : How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! ( video game ) `` You 're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch '' ( song ) The Lorax ( play ) Other works Private Snafu The Pocket Book of Boners Your Job in Germany Our Job in Japan Design for Death The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T Hejji Society of Red Tape Cutters Flit Related A Fish out of Water Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum Beginner Books Dr. Seuss Goes to War The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss Dr. Seuss National Memorial Geisel Award Geisel Library Geisel School of Medicine Helen Palmer Geisel PM Political messages of Dr. Seuss Read Across America Seuss Landing as `` Theo. LeSieg ''. Posthumous. DePatie - Freleng Enterprises Founders David H. DePatie Friz Freleng Theatrical shorts ( original ) The Pink Panther ( 1964 -- 1980 ) The Inspector ( 1965 -- 1969 ) Roland and Rattfink ( 1968 -- 1971 ) The Ant and the Aardvark ( 1969 -- 1971 ) Tijuana Toads ( 1969 -- 1972 ) The Blue Racer ( 1972 -- 1974 ) Hoot Kloot ( 1973 -- 1974 ) The Dogfather ( 1974 -- 1976 ) Commissioned by Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies / Looney Tunes ( theatrical, 1964 -- 1967 ) Bugs Bunny 's Easter Special ( CBS / TV special, 1977 ) Bugs Bunny 's Looney Christmas Tales ( CBS / TV special, 1979 ) Television shorts Texas Toads ( 1976 ) Misterjaw ( 1976 ) Crazylegs Crane ( 1978 ) Television shows The Super 6 ( NBC, 1966 -- 1969 ) Super President ( NBC, 1967 -- 1968 ) Here Comes The Grump ( NBC, 1969 -- 1970 ) The Pink Panther Show ( NBC, 1969 -- 1971 ) The Pink Panther Meets The Ant and the Aardvark ( NBC, 1970 -- 1971 ) Doctor Dolittle ( NBC, 1970 -- 1971 ) The New Pink Panther Show ( NBC, 1971 -- 1976 ) The Barkleys ( NBC, 1972 -- 1973 ) The Houndcats ( NBC, 1972 -- 1973 ) Bailey 's Comets ( CBS, 1973 -- 1975 ) The Oddball Couple ( ABC, 1975 -- 1977 ) Return to the Planet of the Apes ( NBC, 1975 -- 1976 ) The Pink Panther Laugh and a Half - Hour and a Half Show ( NBC, 1976 -- 1977 ) Baggy Pants and the Nitwits ( NBC, 1977 -- 1978 ) What 's New Mr. Magoo ? ( CBS, 1977 -- 1979 ) Think ! Pink Panther ( NBC, 1978 ) The All New Pink Panther Show ( ABC, 1978 -- 1979 ) The Fantastic Four ( NBC, 1978 -- 1979 ) Spider - Woman ( ABC, 1979 -- 1980 ) Television specials The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas ( NBC / TV special, 1973 ) My Mom 's Having a Baby ( ABC / TV special, 1977 ) Where Do Teenagers Come From ? ( ABC / TV special, 1980 ) Dr. Seuss Television specials The Cat in the Hat ( CBS / TV special, 1971 ) The Lorax ( CBS / TV special, 1972 ) Dr. Seuss on the Loose ( CBS / TV special, 1973 ) The Hoober - Bloob Highway ( CBS / TV special, 1975 ) Halloween Is Grinch Night ( ABC / TV special, 1977 ) Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You ? ( ABC / TV special, 1980 ) The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat ( ABC / TV special, 1982 ) See also Marvel Productions Ltd. Saban Entertainment Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Lorax&oldid=799432555 '' Categories : 1971 children 's books Books by Dr. Seuss American children 's picture books Environmental fiction books Literature featuring anthropomorphic characters Environmentalist books Fictional endangered and extinct species Dr. Seuss characters Fictional characters introduced in 1971 Books adapted into films Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from January 2017 Pages to import images to Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español فارسی Français Кыргызча Português Русский Simple English Edit links This page was last edited on 7 September 2017, at 18 : 11. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who cut down the trees in the lorax
Answer: the Once-ler