First Rule of Reading Aloud to a Class: Preview the Book

Link to December 16 Boston Globe letter to the editor, "3d-grade teacher had to edit on the fly".

Excerpt:   In the Sunday Books section I read that “It’s a Book’’ was one of the best children’s titles of the year (“For kids, 10 glittering stars of year,’’ Dec. 5). I got it out of the library to read to my third-grade class. I did not preread the book because most children’s books contain appropriate language that can be used in the classroom. The book delivered a good message that old-fashioned books can be more enjoyable than all the high-tech games and communication devices that kids are bombarded with today. However, when I was reading the book, I had to quickly close it at the end when the donkey, who didn’t know the value of a book, was called a jackass.