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Of all of the Dr. Seuss books at our house, The Lorax is one of my favorite. This story and that of The Sneetches both transcend many of Seuss' other books of silly rhymes to make complicated morals easy to digest for young people. And while The Sneetches is an allegory for discrimination, The Lorax is an environmental story at heart. Fitting, then, that the excellent eBook version arrives in time for Earth Day.
Oceanhouse Media, who previously brought The Cat in the Hat and the ABC's to life on the iPhone, have revamped their eBook engine to support the iPad. In addition, they've taken their same interactive treatment to The Lorax and it's beautiful. Dr. Seuss' illustrations are gorgeous and the app zooms and pans around them in a way that brings focus to the art and the narrative. As in the previous titles, children can read themselves or be read to with words highlighting as they go. The voice talent is great, if a bit airy, and the audio track is peppered with sound effects that add depth to the story.
Overall, I think The Lorax is their best effort to date. Dr. Seuss' story is timeless and just as appropriate now as when it was published in 1971. If you have young kids and an iPhone or iPad, add this title to your collection. If The Lorax isn't one of their favorite books now, it should be afterwards.
The Lorax (Apple App Store Link, Universal App, $3.99)
Disclosure: I received a free copy of The Lorax for review.
