The Lorax by Doctor Seuss

This, like all the books Doctor Seuss wrote for children, is an illustrated rhyme. This is one of Doctor Seuss's most famous books because how cleverly he incorporates themes of environmental degradation into a seemingly simple children's book. The book tells the story of a beautiful paradise, full of wonderful plants and animals. One day a man called the Onceler shows up and begins harvesting the lands key resource, the Truffala Trees. As a result of this the animals are forced to move away and the paradise is eventually destroyed through pollution caused by the Truffala tree factory that converts the trees into a useless thing called a Sneed.

Doctor Seuss is a master of saying a lot and invoking emotion through simple phrases. This book is packed with lessons about things like conservation, empathy, needs vs. wants, etc. I would definitely use this book in my classroom. This book would be great for introducing young readers to environmental issues because it is a easily understandable microcosm of current issues of things like resource management.