See, this is tough because I have A LOT of favorite books from my childhood and youth. And by childhood, does this mean 3-5 or anywhere from first read to, say, 15? I’ll go with really young, for the sake of variety, and say my favorite book was The Lucky Yak by Annetta Lawson, illustrated by Allen Say. It was about a successful yak who, though he had everything he could want and plenty of leisure time, felt restless and bored. He sees a psychiatrist—a puffin (naturally)—who ultimately ends up asking Edward, this being the yak’s name, if he could babysit his daughter while he and his wife take a weekend trip. Edward agrees and so begins the most hellish weekend of his life. That little puffin drives him crazy. Of course, when the puffin parents return and Edward’s psychiatrist asks him how he is, Edward says he only wants to go home and enjoy his peace and quiet. 

I don’t know why I liked this book so much. Probably the fact that a mild-mannered yak was babysitting a tiny, badly-behaved puffin. I mean, come on.