If you were part of the global participants of Earth Hour 2010, did you know that this coming April 22nd is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day? In conjunction with Earth Day, Oceanhouse Media has announced the release of three new Dr Seuss iPhone/iPod touch/iPad apps. Check out the information below, taken from the press release:

The first two apps are based on The Lorax, a children’s book written by Dr Seuss. First published in 1971, it chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax, a mossy, bossy man-like creature who speaks for the trees, against the greedy, big-industry businessman, the Once-ler. The story recounts how the Lorax tries to save the Truffula Forest and its inhabitants from disaster at the hands of the insatiable factory owner.

The Lorax’s pleas are ignored and tragedy follows. Hope for the future is restored in the next generation when the last Truffula seed is entrusted to a young boy. A Dr. Seuss classic, it also serves as an ecological warning that still rings true today. The first app is The Lorak eBook which combines the beautiful original artwork of the book with innovative features that promote reading in young children, including highlighted picture / word associations, professional narrations and custom background audio. High resolution artwork for the iPad and standard artwork for the iPhone are both included in the same app.

“We are very excited about Oceanhouse Media’s rendition of The Lorax,” said Susan Brandt, President of Dr. Seuss Enterprises. “Theodor Geisel embraced all new technologies and would be thrilled to see his work adapted in this way and shared with a new generation of children.”

The Lorax Garden app, found in the Kids and Family Games categories, is a fun continuation of where the book leaves off. Players help the Lorax regrow the world’s Truffula tree forests one tree at a time. They can design their own trees and flowers, see them grow right before their eyes in real-time 3D, and share beautiful postcards of the forests they’ve created with friends and family by email.

The Dr. Seuss Senders app contains 100 cards with fun Seussian quotes and sayings that can be sent to anyone who needs inspiration, cheering up or just a smile for the day. Greetings in categories such as love, get-well, congratulations, etc. can be saved to your photo library or emailed to your little ones, grandkids, co-workers, parents, teachers and friends. For less than the price of a single, paper greeting card users get the entire set of 100 Dr. Seuss Senders in a single app.

“We are excited to release The Lorax eBook timed to honor the 40th anniversary of Earth Day,” said Michel Kripalani, President of Oceanhouse Media. “Not only does this book contain a wonderful message for children, making them aware of being kind to our environment, but the interactive features of this app remain true to Theodor Geisel’s vision of teaching children to read. It also looks fantastic in the almost-true-to-size rendition on the iPad.”

Oceanhouse Media has now released nine Dr. Seuss apps since late-November with many more to come in the near future. Dr. Seuss’s ABC, The Cat In The Hat and How The Grinch Stole Christmas! eBooks have all appeared on the App Store’s Top-Paid 100 chart, with Dr. Seuss’s ABC holding the number 4 position for over a week. All three eBooks topped the Books category in the month of March, holding the #1, #2 and #3 spots for over a week. The apps have received excellent reviews and are a runaway commercial success.

For more information on these products and direct links to the App store, please visit www.oceanhousemedia.com/drseuss.