“Unless someone like you
cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get
better.
It’s not!”
~Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
Upon learning about the banning of books during the Counter Reformation, our class read a controversial book that was nearly banned in a California school in 1989. Dr. Seuss's famous book, The Lorax, depicts a creature named the Lorax, standing up for the the environment (and the truffula trees, specifically). He finds himself conflicting against the greedy Once-ler because of his booming industry of thneeds (created with truffula trees, of course). Our class discussed the concept of banning books, and the results of allowing and refraining kids from reading certain books. We spoke on the value of literature and how it allows ideas to be born. This was connected to our current study of the Protestant Reformation and how the Catholic Church was banning books that did not support their beliefs and customs. This discussion of censorship can be applied to many settings. Please continue this conversation at home! :)
Questions to ask:
- What qualifies something for censorship/banning?
- Why do people ban things?
- Do you think there is anything in the world that everyone would agree to ban?
- Should The Lorax be banned?
- How would you feel if you were a logger and you read The Lorax?
- How would you feel if you were Martin Luther and your books were banned?
