“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

This powerful fable about human greed trashing the natural world has been many children’s introduction to the ecological crisis since its release in 1971, and remains one of the most famous stories about ecological devastation released in the English language. It chronicles the plight of the threatened environment thought the character of the Lorax, who represents the threatened Truffula trees and clashes with the environment-destroying magnate the Once-ler. “The Lorax came out of me being angry,” said Dr Seuss. “I was out to attack what I think are evil things and let the chips fall where they might.”

Read more of our Climate Classics: timeless works exploring themes of climate change and biodiversity loss.