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that I would lose my voice from reading so much to DD! She's become obsessed with "The Cat in the Hat" and basically any Dr. Seuss books we pick up from the library. Seriously, why do they have to be so long? We have to read them multiple times each sitting and I'm really missing the days of board books!

I remember those days! I bet I could recite many Dr. Seuss books from memory. It does get better when the interest moves on to chapter books. The Hobbit and Narnia are much more thrilling than The King's Stilts (a favorite bedtime book of DS, when he realized it would take us extra long to read it!)

FWIW, my DS6, who could never get enough of us reading to him as an infant/toddler, became a very early reader himself. At some point, we did start tracking each word with our fingers while reading.

I think my DD also learned to read very early in part because of my voice issues. I seriously cannot read aloud for more than half an hour or so without starting to lose my voice. IDK what the deal is, as I'd never lost my voice at all until after DD was born, even when I used to sing at the top of my lungs for hours on end.

My only advice... avoid One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Dr. Suess on LSD. That books takes a serious wrong turn somewhere around the middle and your tongue will be tied in knots before you ever lose your voice!

That's how my husband feels about Fox in Socks! I don't know why the Dr Seuss books have to be so long but it does get easier as they branch out to more interests.

Lol - so true re One Fish, Two Fish!

It still hasn't got much better for us. DD 4 is/was more than capable of reading to herself, but would rather not. We had periods where she insisted on being read to for up to 3 (and occasionally 4) hours a day (though not in one sitting - and they were those dreadful Rainbow Fairy books - she was obsessed!). I did it because it ended up being easier than some of the other activities she was keen on (endless make believe games etc). She's cut down for the moment, but I think it's because we haven't found anything that really grabs her at the moment rather than anything else.

Water, I recommend lots of water!

Yes for reading aloud I had the same problem so I limited our "reading sessions" to 30 minute time slots. Even if we did a few of our reading sessions in one day, it still would give my voice a break!

Maybe it is like child birth: with distance the remembrance of the painful act is not so bad? More than half of DD's life has been devoted to books and I made the mistake of reading Dr. Seuss very early to her because I found the board books boring. :P Stupid me! I had NO IDEA that this kid would become obsessed with books, but I should have known when DD was 4 months old and I recited a Sandra Boynton book just because it was engraved on my mind only to have DD smile and say again that I was in serious trouble!

When we went on trips the only thing I needed to remember was her little stuffed dog, a mini doodlepad and books. Made packing easy but meant I had to spend most of the flight reading to her and hope someone on the other side would take over so I could enjoy my trip. Thank goodness for a teenager who is also obsessed with books!

But somewhere along the way her interests shifted and we weren't reading that many books anymore. We are back to books now but because she is reading on her own. I still have to sit there with her but at least I don't have to read all the tongue twisters.

Have you tried Audiobooks? They've saved me from endless readings of The Cat in the Hat, etc. You can get several Dr. Seuss recordings at AudibleKids.com. iTunes also has kids books. You just download to your computer and upload to an MP3 player. My DS4 listens daily.

Other audiobooks he loves: Curious George (really relates to that little monkey), The Berenstein Bears, The Star Wars series, The Chronicles of Narnia series... Lots to choose from. By the way, audiobooks are a wonderful way to pass time on long drives. Especially the novels.

Also, Amazon often has a deal -- $100 off an MP3 player if you sign up for a one Audible.com subscription. Kids books tend to be cheap. So I use my subscription credit ($14.95 mo.) to buy myself a "big" book that lists for, say, $35, and buy the kids books for a few bucks.

ONE OTHER SUGGESTION: Check out the TAG reader from Leapfrog!

http://shop.leapfrog.com/leapfrog/j...ral&gclid=CPG4y_7boqQCFRFFgwodsXZC4w

It's a "pen" that reads books to kids. LOVE IT. But more than just reading the story, each book is interactive. Everything on each page "talks". Games teach phonics, identification, etc. And you can plug in headphones. (Ahhh, my ears don't even have to hear "...I do not like them Sam I Am"). II usually bring along a couple new books on plane rides. (The Leapfrog site had a sale last year near Christmas, so I stocked up.) And I like that I'm not just plugging my son into a DVD or game player.

Oh, we still cuddle and read lots of books together, but now my son can sate his voracious appetite on his own.

I don't know if they still make the software, but the Learning Company's Living Books software saved my sanity. Our kiddo could select to have the book read to him, and there were hidden Easter Eggs on most of the pages, encouraging him to touch all the hot spots and explore. The software also usually had either Spanish or Japanese versions as well, so when he got bored with English, he'd choose a different language.

When he was around 3, he completely memorized Harry and the Haunted House - complete with sound effects (... he opened the door ... reeeeeee....) and used to recite it to use over and over on long road trips.

If they're still around, I'd highly recommend them.