Few authors, for kids or adults, are as beloved as Dr. Seuss. Try to find anyone who hasn’t heard “Sam I am”, “Fox in Socks” or “Mr. Brown can Moo, Can you?” . At my stage of parenthood, I can recite a frightening number of these books by heart. Add a backbeat and some funky dance moves, and I may have a great urban-kids act (or something really tragic you normally see and cringe through the first few episodes of American Idol).

I’ve often thought if everyone took a few minutes to read Yertle the Turtle (a turtle-stacking look at politics) and the Lorax (a forest and Truffala-tree view of business and the environment ), industry would turn green, world peace would abound, and it would be sunshine, lollipops and rainbows everywhere. And now, you don’t even need to read the book (though do…it’s fabulous and it rhymes).

Enter one of the most (O.K., my most) anticipated movie premieres…the Lorax!… coming to theatres everywhere this very day! And though there’s bound to be an enormous amount of Lorax-themed promotional items (I’ve already found Lorax and truffala tree cake-pops, more unintentional ironies to be discovered later), there’s an attempt to bring the conservationist’s message home. If you have any wee ones in your life (or if your inner child is more of an outer child), visit the Lorax Project http://origin-www.seussville.com/loraxproject/, for kid-friendly games and ideas to help the world’s forests. The Lorax speaks for the trees, after all.

Coming next week…a thought-provoking review of the movie (Disclaimer: the review may or may not provoke thoughts, but here’s hoping). If you’ve seen it already, feel free to weigh in.