"The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss

     The Lorax is a didactic story because it teaches a lesson--industrialization can have bad effects on the environment and on wildlife.  The Once-ler found a beautiful place where Tuffala trees grew in abundance.  Wildlife played in the shade and fish frolicked in the water.  One day the Once-ler chopped down a Truffala tree and made a Thneed.  The Lorax, the voice for the trees and animals, urges the Once-ler to please stop chopping down the trees.  Soon a factory is built and all the trees cut.  The wildlife has moved on and the land is barren.  Without the trees the factory is shut down and the Once-ler is left all alone. 
     There are not so many didactic children's books today as there were years ago.  While there are several children's books that teach a lesson, they don't seem as preachy as The Lorax.  For instance, I recently read Patricia Polacco's book Babushka Baba Yaga.  This story teaches acceptance of a person based on what's in their heart despite what they may look like on the outside.  The story is a sweet adaptation of a Russian fairy tale.  The story is shows the love felt between the young boy in the story and his Babushka Baba Yaga despite the fact that the Baba Yaga is rumored to be a witch who eats small children.  She loves this boy and would never hurt him and he knows this.  The moral of acceptance is taught in a loving way without being the lesson being told in a preachy sort of way.
     The Lorax certainly makes it's point in it's stand against industrialization.  It's didactic content clearly shows how the environment can be affected by man's greed.  It provides a good lesson for future generations, but is the message for the children or is it more of a protest against "the man"?
Perhaps children's books are written more for entertainment today than for teaching a lesson.