Reading to two children at once
You are not looking for the average of two children. There is no such child.
Why the obvious answer does not work
The instinct is to split the difference — something a bit old for the younger one and a bit young for the older one. It usually loses both. The younger child cannot follow it and the older child has noticed it is a baby book.
What actually works is a book that is doing two things at once, so each of them can take the part they want.
Books that work on two levels
Rhyme again, for the same reason it works as a present: the younger child is listening to the sound, the older one is following the story, and neither is waiting for the other.
Pictures with a lot going on are the other good bet. A busy page gives an older child something to find and a younger one something to point at, and pointing is reading, just earlier.
It is fine to read two books
The other honest answer is that sometimes there is no single book, and reading a short one to the younger child and a longer one to the older is not a failure of planning.
If you use this site for this, answer for the OLDER child and then look down the list rather than at the top of it. The lower steps are shown for exactly this reason.
Books that hold two children at once
Strong rhythm or a busy page — something for each of them on the same spread.
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Sitting through a picture book
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P
Paddington goes shopping
Michael BondSame author — it will feel familiar.
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G
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F
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D
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
Mo WillemsA picture book with thick board pages.
Ready for a longer story
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G
The great big Paddington book
Michael BondSame author — it will feel familiar.
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C
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L
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H
