Can you read too much to your kid?

Everyone always touts how important it is to read to children, but isn't there a limit? Elias has always been book-crazy, and it hasn't relented even as his choice of books has changed over the last year. Well, not so much changed, as expanded, since he still likes his pop-up and picture books made for infants. Given his choice, I would spend my entire day either reading him books or bringing him food (I'm sure he'd prefer those to be joint ventures, but I try to keep mealtimes in the dining room and free of books.) I have to intentionally carve out time to do other things like play with blocks or cars or stuff outside.

Much of the time we're home he'll be following me around with a carefully chosen book in his hand, pleading "book! book!" (which is reminiscent of a chicken clucking) until I acquiesce and sit down on the couch. Then he giggles, scrambles up beside me, and snuggles in for the big event. He especially likes it if we share an afghan over our legs before opening the first book. At the end of every book he happily declares "All done!" slams it shut, and then either flips it over to the beginning ("more? more?") or lays it aside and scrambles off to choose another one. Now most often he'll bring back 2 or even three to save himself the effort of getting down between books, then carefully deliberate as to which order they should be read. There seems to be no time limit to this activity in his mind, with only hints of the supposedly limited attention span of toddlers showing through when he switches books on me before the previous is completely finished, usually on the second-from-last page. A visitor is pretty much the only thing that is sure to lure him away...but then, chances are, in 10 minutes or so he'll be bringing a book over for the visitor to read to him!

It's so hard for me to decline that cute face and high little voice pleading "Please, book? Please?" I'm sure he know that, so maybe that sure bet for intense mommytime plays a part in his book obsession. Yes, it interferes with housework or pretty much anything else I want to do, and I'm really, really bored with some of the books, but I don't mind so much being manipulated in that way. I treasure the snuggle time, especially weekdays when I see so little of him. Also, I see his desire as a providential blessing, because it was related to me that a final, strong and explicit desire of his birth mother was for him to get an education. He may well be the first in his line to become literate--which at this rate, may happen any day now.