Cat in the Hat vs. The Lorax

Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat vs. The Lorax

The Cat in the Hat: It has been many, many years since I read the Cat in the Hat, so re-reading it was a pleasure for me.  Since I work with kindergarten students, I am very familiar with sight words, and had no idea that there were that many of them in this story.  Although the story may be a bit silly and unrealistic, it has a major charm to it, as well as an innocence that children love.  I definitely noticed the tension between having simple fun and the rising anarchy, and it was very interesting to see that from an adult's perspective; as a child reading this, I would have mainly been reading the words on the page, or possibly thinking about how much trouble the children were going to get into when their mother got home.  I am not aware of any contemporary children's books that have this same tension.  Robert Munsch's writings might have some of the tension--children trying to have fun and yet causing quite a ruckus--but still not that of this classic.  The Cat in the Hat definitely still appeals to children for many reasons.  First, it is hard not to get into a book that magically rhymes; the language in which it is written may be a bit dated, but it also plays into a child's imagination and helping them to think outside the ordinary.  Secondly, most children have heard of Dr. Seuss and his works, so they are usually very open to reading his stories.  Thirdly, I think that children identify with the children in the story who are bored and trying to find something to do.  Although children are not really left alone all that often these days to amuse themselves, it is still possible for those children with wild imaginations to create their own story similar to this one.

 

The Lorax

According to dictionary.com, didactic refers to instructing, teaching or lecturing, especially in terms of a moral lesson.  After reading The Lorax, I think didactic is a perfect word to describe the message behind the story of the Lorax and the Once-ler.  In the story, the Once-ler comes to a place where Truffula trees grow in abundance, little bear-type animals run around them, fish live in a nice pond, swans sing, and basically everyone lives happily...that is, until the Once-ler arrives and begins to cut down the Truffula trees.  He uses them to manufacture a shirt-type garment that he believes everyone needs, building a vast empire of factory buildings that his family comes to help run.  In the mean time, as he is cutting down more and more trees, the native animals to the area begin to leave since they have nowhere left to live.  The Lorax is their "representative" and complains to the Once-ler each time a species is ready to leave, hoping that he will stop cutting down trees or leave, but the Once-ler is a greedy character and basically says, "Oh well."  Eventually, all the Truffula trees in the area have been chopped down, and there is no more business left to operate.  The Once-ler's family leaves, with only him remaining in the area; all the animals have left, including the Lorax.  The only thing left behind is a small pile of rocks labeled, "UNLESS."  Until the very, very end of the story, the Once-ler never realizes what the "unless" means.  However, he finally realizes, as he is sharing the story with a little boy, that unless the message is shared, no one will ever stop cutting down the trees.  For a modern version, unless humans stop using up our natural resources, we will eventually run out and have none left for future generations, much less ourselves.  Without knowing that this is the moral, the book helps the reader to identify with the native species of the area and feel empathy for them...and then eventually see that they can help with problems such as this.  I am not aware of any contemporary book that does this as well as The Lorax and other older titles; it seems that many of the children's books being published today are more meant to entertain or possibly show children being good, rather that trying to teach them a lesson.