Module 2: How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell (SLIS 5420 review)

Summary: Boys will be boys in this classic book first published in 1973. It all starts when a boy named Alan dares another boy named Billy to eat 15 worms in 15 days. If Billy can do it, Alan owes him $50 dollars, which he doesn’t have. Alan’s friend Joe and Billy’s friend Tom get involved too, and the two teams go to great lengths to win the bet. Between Billy’s creative ways to choke down the worms and Alan’s ingenious (but devious) schemes to stop him, it’s unclear who will win the bet right until the very end.

Citation: Rockwell, T., & McCully, E. A. (2006). How to eat fried worms. New York: Random House.

Impression: How to Eat Fried Worms is completely different than the books I normally read, but I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. I felt that even though it was published in 1973, for the most part it still holds appeal for readers today. Kids, especially boys, will relate to the sense of competition and rivalry between the characters in the book. They will also love the gross-out factor of Billy eating the worms. I think readers will be surprised at some of the things Billy does to try and make the worms edible. (Although I don’t think it will inspire anyone to go out and eat a worm themselves— thank goodness.) The only drawback to the book is that some of the language is dated and stilted, which can be a real stumbling block for modern readers. For example, Alan calls Billy a lunk and a fink, and Joe says his mother “collapsed all helter-skelter” (pg. 36). These kinds of words and phrases will be unfamiliar to most modern readers, which could make them frustrated and take away from their enjoyment of the books. Overall, I think the premise of book and the humor in it will win over modern readers. How to Eat Fried Worms was made into a movie in 2006, which will also help bring modern readers to this classic book.

Review:
Kirkus:
Even fried with ketchup, mustard and horseradish sauce or baked as "Alsatian Smothered Worm" with onions and sour cream by Billy's supportive Mother, fifteen nightcrawlers are still a lot of worms to eat. Having made a fifty dollar bet, Billy persists in his one-a-day regimen much to the disgust of his friend Alan, who knows his father won't let him use his money this way in any case and tries all sorts of schemes to sabotage and psych Billy into quitting. The person who comes off best here is Billy's mother, who after a quick call to the doctor accepts the plan with perfect equanimity, but Rockwell's sensibilities (if that's the word) are so uncannily close to those of the average ten year-old boy that one begins to admire Billy as a really sharp operator.

(1973, September 01). [Review of the book How to Eat Fried Worms by T. Rockwell and E. McCully]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from http://www.kirkusreviews.com/

Uses in a library:
A library could read How to Eat Fried Worms as a part of a book club. After discussing the books and eating snacks (gummy worms, of course), the participants could watch the 2006 movie based on the book. Once they’ve watched the movie, they could have another discussion about the differences between the book and the movie.