Thomas Rockwell's "How to Eat Fried Worms"

How to Eat Fried WormsGetting grossed out on a semi-regular basis is a rite of passage for kids everywhere, which is probably what makes, “How to Eat Fried Worms” by Thomas Rockwell one of the funniest (and most disgusting) children’s books ever written.

I read “How to Eat Fried Worms” as a kid and have kept it on my bookcases ever since, have re-read it more than once over the years, and have used it to attempt to scare every kid I come into contact with into eating fried worms. Fortunately, the kids were all tons smarter than I was and as hard as I tried, not a single kid  succumbed to the temptation of eating worms, no matter how delectable I tried to make it sound.

I was, however, able to recommend the book to a few kids successfully. I think it’s a great book for kids 4th-6th grade range and has been made into a movie that I haven't seen yet.

The protagonist in the book is an elementary school student named Billy who is lured into a bet with a friend to eat 15 worms in 15 days (a night-crawler a day). It’s safe to say that worm-eating is not an easy task, even with an array of delicious condiments on hand, mostly due to the extremely long night-crawlers agreed upon beforehand in the bet.

Billy is a rugged young lad, though and starts in on the business of worm-eating right away. At one point, he gets a severe upset stomach, which he instantly attributes to the “snake-like night-crawlers” that he has been eating for the last few days. His mom is pretty worried about him, but his dad is not so concerned.

I can’t give the ending away or tell you who wins the bet (I know you really want to know), but I can safely say that all does not go as planned. Without giving too much away, I can say that if you look at the book from a really creative perspective, you can almost view it as a moral treatise against gambling, but I would have to say that that would definitely be a long, long stretch- it would have to be pulled off with some innocuous lectures.

The 116-page book has black and white illustrations of Billy and his friends playing, preparing the worms to suit Billy’s tempermental palate, and of course, a lovely illustration of a worm spread out on a plate, all cut up and ready to eat, just the way Billy likes it.