The Lorax (and his Truffula trees)

I can't believe I haven't posted about this yet. One of the best "tree books" EVER is a children's book. But it's not really a children's book.

I am an enthusiastic, unabashed fan of Dr. Seuss and his work. I don't know what else to say about that. And one of most lovable tree advocates I've ever come across happens to be a little guy straight from the brain of Dr. Seuss...our friend, The Lorax.

Our wonderful little friend, The Lorax, used to live in a Truffula (TRUFF-yoo-la) tree. Truffula trees have silky soft tufts and they come in colors like bright pink, orange, red, and yellow. These are trees you can't help but love. And, of course, they were home to our friend, The Lorax.

But one fateful day, the Truffula trees were discovered by a money-hungry entrepreneur, who chopped one down and made the tufts into something (a "thneed") to sell. And then he chopped another. And another. And then he built a factory, and before long, every single fluffy Truffula tree was gone. The Lorax tried with all his might to stop it from happening..."I am the Lorax! I speak for the trees!"...but to no avail. And all the creatures were displaced, and all the trees were chopped.

The Truffula trees, sadly, are gone, but the story is not without hope. Pick up the book and read the story! Or...watch the Dr. Seuss movie, based on the book:



If you hang on through (or skip) the credits, you will positively fall in love with the tragic, hypnotic intro song which starts at about the 55 second mark...
"grickle grass...grickle grass...street of the lifted lorax...grickle grass...grickle grass...somebody lifted the lorax away..."

I can't stop singing it.

And now go plant a tree!

Update: if you're having trouble with the video, you can view it here.