Living book

I have a lot of favourite books (today's challenge being "favourite book") as I enjoy reading very much, but this book (and thirteen others like it) is probably my most treasured possession. An old encyclopedia of Grzimek's animal life passed down to me by my grandfather. My grandfather is alive in these books, the way they smell, the way they feel, takes me back to being with him as a child (a child which knew a helluva lot of strange animals). I know every single one in these books, and so does my daughter. Having been a biologist himself, his name is mentioned a few times throughout the books.