Typo in published book

I was reading a library book to my grandchildren earlier today and came to this page. I was appalled and horrified! How does this happen? In a children's book, no less, where young impressionable minds are being exposed? How many people must have read this text before it went to print, and they all let it pass? What is this world coming to, when things like this appear in print??

OK, so it's not a huge infraction. Mistakes happen. We certainly make them in our casual writing, especially when writing on our phones. But I think it's illustrative when we see things like this in printed material (and this is certainly not the first I've seen).

Perhaps in the past, we cared more about "proper" spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Could it be that the explosion of interaction through social media, where our writing is generally quick and casual, made us generally less concerned about things like spelling and grammar? Perhaps editors don't matter as much because we're trying to cut corners and produce things quicker and cheaper?

It used to be that when we saw something in print, we assumed it was carefully reviewed, validated, and trustworthy. The same with things broadcast on the airwaves. But not so much any more. We've learned to be skeptical, to question the source, to debate the bias of the author or presenter. In some ways, that's good and wise; persuasive arguments aren't always valid arguments, and data can be interpreted in many different ways. But it certainly makes it more difficult to "know the truth," and in cases like this, to refine our own language skills.

By the way, when I told my 9-year-old granddaughter there was a word spelled wrong in the sentence, she was able to identify it and provide the properly-spelled homonym. Proud moment!!

I #GiveThanks for the trained and properly educated editors who keep most of our printed material "clean," for authors who strive for truth and accuracy, for awareness of the importance of critical reading and thinking, and for my own good education that makes me be annoyed at misspellings!