There's a Hair in My Dirt!: A Worm's Story

Hailed as a must for Larson fans, no matter what age (Houston Chronicle), the paperback edition of this faux children's fable provides a Larson-eye view of not-so-motherly nature. Full color. n n 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. -- Washington Postn nOnce 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. He went into hiding. He made a couple short films. He threw sticks for his dogs. They threw some back.n nGary was restless. He couldn't sleep nights. Something haunted him. 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.n nIt 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.n nAnd 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.n nWritten 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 birds and the bees and the worms (not to mention our own species).n nTold with his trademark off-kilter humor, this first original non--Far Side book is the unique work of a comic master.n nNow Larson can finally sleep at night. Question is, will you?n