“Scrotum sounded to Lucky like something green that comes up when you have the flu and cough too much,” the book continues. “It sounded medical and secret, but also important.”Now that is an excellent example of how to use the word "scrotum" in a kid's book. It perfectly describes the way child figures out new, off-limits vocabulary. And heck, "scrotum" isn't even a swear. I can't think of a better place for my kids to learn the names of body parts than a Newbery Award-winning book. It certainly beats my having to teach them.
I don't know how the offended librarians are going to handle this, though. "No, Giselle, we don't have the 2006 winner, because it's very, very naughty." You might as well hang a big READ ME tag on it.
Sometimes I think we should tell kids, "You're not allowed to read until you're twenty-one." Next thing you know, we'll have a nation of binge-readers.
