I knew quite a lot about Chris anyway but you just have to read this in his own sweet and unique words because it’s truly written so incredibly beautifully. He would spend hours outside looking for specimens, poring over his collections and boiling carcases to get to the bones. I found the whole thing powerful and evocative, a very personal account of nature’s wonders and the perils of being different as a child. Every magical moment that he spent with the bird learning how to train it and observing it in the tiniest detail was to be the time he finally felt at peace with the world around him.

Sadly, some of the material is unsuitable for younger readers (sexual content and strong language), which is a shame, as an edited version of this book would be perfect for studying in schools to help encourage tolerance and understanding toward those on the autistic spectrum. It doesn't share his life story, just some of the more memorable moments from Packham's childhood and teenage years.Fingers in the Sparkle Jar' is unique, startling, bewildering, frustrating and like nothing else I've ever read.

I am equally surprised, as the format of the book is unconventional, confrontational and challenging – everything I needed it to be, but perhaps didn’t expect the readers to enjoy so readily.I initially thought the third person would be done in especially traumatic sections, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Both Chris and indeed Mark have done an amazing job (not least in trying to encourage the next generation of conservation champions), as have others and we must all help them however we can as conservation is a broad community and I sense a collective determination that will persevere and deliver a ban.

Informative and heart-breaking in equal measure, and graced with a punk sensibility and wry sense of humour, Fingers in the Sparkle Jar is a work of great originality which pushes at the boundaries of the nature writing genre’. Me, I'm not a fan of the abstract style so I found this very hard to get on with, skimming the lengthy descriptions more often than not. Furthermore, whilst these segments are set in the 60’s and 70’s, there are also sections of short conversations with his therapist from 2003-2004 which have been included in all italics. I’m not a fan of overly detailed descriptions if I feel they don’t suit a purpose, and that combined with repetitive segments about his love of animals made this difficult to get through at times. I am a huge wildlife lover and think Chris Packham is brilliant at what he does on screen and his incredible knowledge of the natural world astounds me.Parts of the book, especially those that deal with a suicide attempt, are upsetting and difficult to read. I was expecting a gentle memoir of a boy growing up with a love of animals which he then turned into a successful career.