Craft Activities for "The Lorax"
"The Lorax" is a classic children's story written by Dr Seuss and published in 1971. The story tells of the decline of a beautiful land due to industrialization and greed. Like all books by Dr Seuss, also "The Lorax" is illustrated with colorful drawings of fantastical creatures and bizarre inventions that give plenty opportunities for arts and crafts activities.
-
Truffula Trees
-
The beautiful Truffula trees are detrimental to the story as their fluffy colorful foliage first attract the industrialist who brings doom to the land. Make your own Truffula trees with pipe cleaners, pompons and green play dough. Cut the pipe cleaners down to various lengths. Paste some glue at one end and insert it into a pompon. Shape a small island with the play dough and insert the free end of the pipe cleaners into it. Arrange a colony of Truffula trees on one pile of play dough, or give each tree an individual play dough foot to stand on.
The Once-Ler
-
Use paper mache, play dough or clay to make the Once-ler, the mysterious figure whose greed brought down the Truffula trees and destroyed the landscape. Dr Seuss did not depict the Once-ler and in the course of the book only the arms and hands are shown. Start with a pair of green arms and hands, and create a body, legs and a head from your imagination. For inspiration, look at other characters created by Dr Seuss, or at Mexican Alebrijes figures of fantastical creatures.
-
Knit a Thneed
-
Thneeds are made from the fluffy top of the Truffula trees and even though nobody knows their particular purpose, everybody wants one. Due to the decline of the Truffula trees, you will have to use yarn in strong colors. A thneed is an odd looking creation with no specific shape, and you can either knit a jumper with four to five arms, a sock that is longer than any human leg, or any glove with more than five fingers. Even though the thneed should not have a specific purpose, you still can decorate the dog's basket with it, or hang it from the chimney as the world's greediest Christmas stocking.
Once-Ler Tower with Phones
-
Honor the Once-ler's final remorse by building him a tower made from exclusively recylced materials. Collect small cardboard boxes and empty toilet rolls. Paste strips of old newspaper and magazines to the outsides of the cardboard material and stack the boxes and rolls on top of each other until you have a stable but ramshackle tower. Glue the cardboard pieces into position. Cut two horizontal and one vertical slits into the top segment to make a window with shutters. Shape two long arms from green play dough and hang them out of the window. Punch a small hole into the bottom of two empty, clean tin cans and connect them with a piece of string. Place the tin cans next to the tower and ask your children or guests to talk to the Once-ler through one of the tin can, while you will assume the role of the fantastical industrialist by answering questions through the other tin can.
-
References
- Photo Credit William B. Plowman/Getty Images News/Getty Images
