Friday's 5: More Children's Books

When I was a kid, I'd spend my summer visiting the Elbert Ivey Memorial Library in Hickory, NC. I don't know why I still remember the full name, but maybe it's because I spent a lot of time there. I'd take a cardboard box with me, fill it with books, read them all and return to my summer reading program stamps. Check out, read, repeat.

Even though I'm supposedly a grown up now, I still love children's books. So even though I gave you a 5 list of books last week, I've got a back-log of kids' books to write about -- we've been going to the library a lot lately and coming home with a sack full each time.

So here, in no particular order, are five more kids' books for you:

1. Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent by Lauren Child: If you know Charlie and Lola, you already know about Lauren Child's quirky stories and wonderfully textured illustrations. This story -- about a long-named boy who is much more responsible than his loving but flaky parents -- is downright hilarious and the main character's name is just plain fun to say.
2. Plantzilla Goes to Camp by Jerdine Nolen and David Catrow: Mortimer is heartbroken when he can't bring his pet plant with him to camp. Through postcards home, we find that Plantzilla isn't happy about it either.
3. The retired kid by Jon Agee: Being a kid is hard work. So this one retires to Florida and makes friends with Ethel, Myrtle, Harvey and Tex. But Brian finds out that retirement isn't all he hoped it would be.
4. Brontorina by James Howe and Randy Cecil: A book that combines ballerinas AND dinosaurs -- it just doesn't get any better at our house. Brontorina wants to dance, but she just doesn't fit in the studio. Thankfully, her friends Jack and Clara are there to help out.
5. Mary had a little ham by Margie Palatini and Guy Francis: Mary's very talented pig, Stanley Snoutowski, leaves the farm for Broadway -- but he never forgets the girl who first believed in him.