A few months ago (I think it was a few months ago, it might be weeks) we (me, Sherrie, Shirley) attended the dynamic and enthralling Reading First Summit. Six hours, three speakers. Good times. The last speaker, Dr. Maria Elena Arguelles, was fantastic. She talked about vocabulary instruction for all learners. It was great stuff. She also talked a little about reading aloud. I'm a HUGE fan of reading aloud. I wish I could make a living just by reading aloud. Anyway, this is what she had to say about reading aloud:

• Reading aloud can provide a level of lexical difficulty that extends beyond every conversational language.
• These benefits persist beyond the age when children are capable of reading independently.
• Teacher read alouds should be roughly two or three grade levels about the students.
• Moreover, significant chunks of time (20 minutes) should be devoted to discussion after each read aloud.
• Students who participate in read alouds conducted in small groups, understand and recall story elements better than in large groups.

I think it's perfectly ok to read a book to kids that is at their level or even slightly below their level. Especially if we're also using the book as a touchstone or mentor text. It's perfectly fine to read a picture book to a group of fifth graders...they love it! We may have a teaching purpose attached to a read aloud, but it's ok to have a read aloud just to hear a wonderfully written story that may also have really neat pictures. That's my two cents.