#3 My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

Gerry, a 9-year-old boy, brings all types of bugs, birds and lizards into his house to keep as pets and even smuggles in a mother scorpion whose eggs hatch at the dinner table!  When their dog is in heat, strays tear through the house trying to get some action. What makes this book even more precious is that it’s a true story. The older brother, Larry, is a trip. He says witty, Britty things like,  “bloody, great albatross” to describe a gigantic, ailing bird that Gerry brings home.  An epic battle between a praying mantis and a lizard gave me a new respect for that insect.  Props to the mantis.