Visit the Lorax

Those sympathetic to preserving our environment say the Dr. Seuss 1971 versical children’s book “The Lorax” is a valuable conservation instructive. Those who feel it threatens our capitalist society say it’s propaganda.

Earth Day is approaching (April 22 this year). This essayist takes the side of The Lorax, who is concerned about the loss of the Truffula forest, but is discouraged in his efforts to do anything about it by The Once-ler, the one-time maker of Thneed who tells The Lorax the trees are only a hideout for forest creatures. One day the last Truffula tree is gone. The forest creatures are gone. Only then does The Once-ler express regret.

One thin-skinned logging company executive felt particularly burned by the book’s message and wrote his own book, “The Truax,” about a tree known as the Guardbark. Published by the National Oak Flooring Manufacturers’ Association, it stresses the re-seeding efforts of sawmill operators but glided over the issue of diminished environments for wildlife.

If you have children or grandchildren, read them the book on Earth Day or any day. To be even more adventurous, visit the new Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum in Springfield, Mass.

Theodor Geisel’s tongue- twisting rhymes and art are just dandy, and his characters are realized in full-size plastic replicas scattered throughout the museum. The walls are muraled with the Cat in the Hat, The Grinch and others. There’s a supervised craft room in the basement.  

While young visitors entertain themselves with interactive displays, the adults can view the exhibits of the artist’s formative years in the city. He grew up on Mulberry Street, of course.

The museum complex first embraced the Seuss universe with an outdoor sculpture garden, then closed a history museum (which displayed old furniture and became dated) and replaced it with Seuss. 

Dr. Seuss joins the relatively new Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History that rightly shows off Springfield’s rich industrial history: Knox, Duryea, Rolls-Royce and other city-made vehicles; a GeeBee 1930s racing airplane; Indian motorcycles and more.

The complex also includes the Springfield Science Museum (with life-size dioramas), the George Walter Vince Smith Art Museum (with samurai armor and Asian art) and the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts (Winslow Homer, Georgia O’Keeffe).

Visit as many buildings as you like on one ticket. There are a few ways to reach the museum off Route 91. There’s a parking lot on Edwards Street.

The Page 1 photo shows the Lorax standing on the stump of a Truffula tree in one of the very-child-friendly exhibit halls at the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum in Springfield, Mass.