Hi,
We had speech therapy for DS now 2.5 starting about 17 months because he didn't seem to be taking off talking (caught up suddenly at about 2). At one visit at about 18 months the speech pathologist, well trained in developmental norms, noted to me that it was extremely unusual that DS sat continuously interested while I read through a book that took about 10 min. So my guess is that yes it is unusual for a even younger child to be attentive to a book for that long.
The things you don't feel comfortable mentioning to other moms -- they are probably not the norm. But they may be normal for here.
Polly
