CBC Kids Reads has released this year’s longlist.

The third edition of “Canada Reads for kids” will celebrate five of Canada’s best picture books. Each book will be championed by a CBC Kids character – Gary the Unicorn, Cottonball the Cat, Mr. Orlando the Moose, Stuffy the Dog, and Mosey Monster — and read by a notable Canadian.

The titles on the 2025 longlist are:

• Shark Girl by Kate Beaton (Roaring Brook Press)
• The Only Lonely Fairy by Lana Button and Peggy Collins, ill. (Pajama Press)
• So Loud! by Sahar Golshan and Shiva Delsooz, ill. (Annick Press)
• Mad at Dad by Janie Hao (Kids Can Press)
• Benny and the Bananasaurus Rex by Sarabeth Holden and Emma Pedersen, ill. (Inhabit Media)
• Cone Dog by Sarah Howden and Carmen Mok, ill. (Owlkids Books)
• How to Staycation Like a Snail by Naseem Hrab and Kelly Collier, ill. (Owlkids Books)
• When You Meet a Dragon by Tanya Lloyd Kyi and Udayana Lugo, ill. (Orca Book Publishers)
• The Mango Monster by Derek Mascarenhas and Meneka Repka, ill. (Owlkids Books)
• I am a Rock by Ashley Qilavaq-Savard and Pelin Turgut, ill. (Inhabit Media)
• Oh! Look, a Boat! by Andrew J. Ross (Flying Eye Books)
• The Hockey Skates by Karl Subban and Maggie Zeng, ill. (HarperCollins)
• The Little Green Envelope by Gillian Sze and Claudine Crangle, ill. (Groundwood Books)
• Getting Glam at Gram’s by Sara Weed and Erin Hawryluk, ill. (Arsenal Pulp Press)
• When You Can Swim by Jack Wong (Orchard Books/Scholastic)

Last year’s winner was Still My Tessa by Sylv Chiang and Mathias Ball, ill. championed by Gary the Unicorn.

The shortlist will be revealed on Sept. 17. The winner will be announced on Oct. 4 during a special TV broadcast on CBC TV and CBC Gem at 10:20 AM ET, in a live-to-tape special recorded at the Civic Centre Resource Library in Vaughan where an audience of kids and families will vote for the winning book.