"Dirt for breakfast, dirt for lunch and dirt for dinner! Dirt, dirt, dirt! And look--now there's even a hair in my dirt! The final insult--I can't stand it any longer! I hate being a worm!" It isn't easy being an earthworm, and when one little guy gets mad at a hair in his dinner, Father worm decides to tell him a story. What follows is an ecological fable that combines environmental lessons with the kind of off-the-wall humor that could only come from one man: Gary Larson. Fans of The Far Side have been waiting for Larson's latest work since January 1995 when the final Far Side strip appeared in newspapers around the world, and they won't be disappointed. Father worm tells the story of Harriet, a beautiful but stupid maiden who frolics through the forest enjoying the beauty of nature, but completely failing to understand it. The young earthworm learns that nature is not a cute and cuddly theme park designed for the entertainment of stupid humans, but a complex, fragile, and sometimes violent system where every creature plays a vital role, even the lowly worm.

Larson is never preachy, the text is hilarious, and his illustrations are filled with wonderful sight gags. It may look like a children's book, but there's enough here to keep the most sophisticated adult chuckling for hours. You might learn something, too. --Simon Leake


From School Library Journal
YA-A truly twisted fairy tale that is perfect for teens who enjoy the macabre. In his offbeat and inimitable style, Larson presents a biology lesson through his narrator, an earthworm. During dinner, when a young worm expresses disgust at finding a hair in his dirt as well as at his lot in life as the "lowest of the low," his father tells him a story about a beautiful human maiden, Harriet, who loves nature but doesn't understand it. As she cavorts through the woods, her ignorance produces some unfortunate results including the demise of a land tortoise. The humor and clever illustrations will appeal to YAs while illuminating some realities about wildlife. A charming firefly is observed flashing a prospective mate by opening his raincoat. Harriet feeds a sweet group of squirrels, while behind a tree a lone red squirrel is forced to hand over his acorn to a gang of gray squirrels, one of which is wearing a T-shirt bearing the inscription, "I kicked Thumper's Ass." The story concludes after Harriet saves a mouse; as the vector of a deadly disease, it infects Harriet, who dies and decomposes above the worm family's home, hence the hair in the dirt. Father worm explains that those who romanticize parts of nature while disparaging others fail to understand the inherent interconnections. The little creature regains his self-esteem in the knowledge that lowly worms aerate the earth's soil, preparing it for plant life, thus insuring the existence of the animals that depend on it.Debra Shumate, Bull Run Regional Library, Manassas, Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
From the celebrated Far Side comic.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Washington Post
" There's a Hair in My Dirt! is hysterical . . . more entertaining than any science class I remember and the foreword by biologist Edward O. Wilson proves it's legit."

FROM OUR EDITORS

From the creator of "The Far Side" comes this hilarious faux children's fable. It begins a few inches underneath the forest floor, when, during a typical worm-family dinner, a young whiny worm finds a hair in his dirt. What follows is a father worm's story to his son about idealized nature and the cold reality of life for the birds, the bees -- and the worms! Color illustrations.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Once upon a time in a place far away, lived a man named Gary Larson who used to draw cartoons. It was a cartoon that appeared for many years in daily newspapers and was loved by millions. (And was confusing to millions more.) But one day he stopped.

Gary went into hiding. He made a couple short films. He played his guitar. He threw sticks for his dogs. They threw some back.

Yet Gary was restless. He couldn't sleep nights. Something haunted him. (Besides Gramps.) Something that would return him to his roots in biology, drawing and dementia—a tale called There's a Hair in My Dirt! A Worm's Story.

It begins a few inches underground, when a young worm, during a typical family dinner, discovers there's a hair in his plate of dirt. He becomes rather upset, not just about his tainted meal but about his entire miserable, wormy life. This, in turn, spurs his father to tell him a story—a story to inspire the children of invertebrates everywhere.

And so Father Worm describes the saga of a fair young maiden and her adventuresome stroll through her favorite forest, a perambulator's paradise. It is a journey filled with mystery and magic. Or so she thinks.

Which is all we'll say for now.What exactly does the maiden encounter?Does Son Worm learn a lesson?More important, does he eat his plate of fresh dirt?

Well, you'll have to read to find out, but let's just say the answers are right under your feet.

Written and illustrated in a children's storybook style, There's a Hair in My Dirt! A Worm's Story is a twisted take on the difference between our idealized view of Nature and the sometimes cold, hard reality of life for the birdsand the bees and the worms (not to mention our own species).

Told with his trademark off-kilter humor, this first original non—Far Side book is the unique work of a comic master.

Now Larson can finally sleep at night. Question is, will you?

Author Biography:

Gary Larrson creator of the phenomenally successful cartoon, The Far Side®, grew up in Tacoma, Washington. As a kid he liked to draw but never formally studied art or considered being a cartoonist. His real love was biology, which ultimately became a frequent topic in his cartoon panel.

Larson has the distinction of having the scientific community name a biting louse and a butterfly after him. He lives in Seattle, Washington—above ground.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal