How to Eat Fried Worms

I first read this book when I was seven or eight or so, and liked it so much I read it at least two more times in elementary school on my own. i think I first had to read it in class. Worms, boys, betting, baseball. It was all there. It helped me because we all face bullies and dares and negotiate our friendships and familyships. I like the characters, the hero, the story, and the happy ending. I never noticed, we didn't notice such things in the 1980s, that there was no "diversity," no girls (except moms), and that the story happened in an obviously rural/small town. I wonder if kids ever read this anymore. And, I know from Wikipedia from 2006 that there is inputted diversity, racial and genderal, and the story is moved from rural show more summertime to urban middle school time. Oh, the humanity. show less

I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. Billy makes a bet with his friends, Alan and Joe, worth fifty dollars. His friends bet hims that he can't eat 15 worms in 15 days. With the help of his family and friend Tom, Billy completes the challenge by staying a step ahead of their tricks and creating new recipes to eat the worms that Billy winds up enjoying. I did not like that the story includes the consumption of real, live worms but I think the plot of this book will be very entertaining to fourth and fifth graders. The chapters are short and there are many picture throughout, which help young readers transition to longer chapter books. I like how the premise of this book, although disgusting, is very entertaining to show more children and will definitely grab their attention and enjoy reading this book. The characters in this book are very believable and can be relatable to children. Overall I thought this was a very entertaining book, and enjoyed reading it. show less

Thomas Rockwell is the son of Norman Rockwell. Knowing that, and simply seeing his title—How to Eat Fried Worms—might give you a clue that this book isn’t likely to be shelved with Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island, and The Hobbit as classics of children’s literature.

But give it to an eight- or nine- or ten-year-old boy, who’s a reluctant reader just graduating to “chapter books," sorta hard to please, and you just may have found yourself a winner.

At least the kids in Missouri who voted it their Mark Twain Award in 1975 must have thought so.

Why is it a winner? Well, for one thing, it gets started right away. No messing around with exposition and such fol-de-rol. By p. 5, Alan has bet Billy $50 that he won’t eat a worm a day for show more fifteen days.

“I can use ketchup or mustard or anything like that? As much as I want?” Billy bargains. And the contest is underway.

Reluctant readers like the short chapters, most of them around two or three pages of large print. “Guess what, Ms. Noble, I read five chapters in my book last night.” (Well, Ms. Noble may know that’s only twelve short pages with several cartoon illustrations taking up space. Even so, it’s a beginning for a new reader of chapter books.)

But mostly the Billys and the Alans and their buddies like the book because it’s disgusting. Really disgusting. “‘Not from a manure pile,’ said Tom. ‘That’s not fair.’”

Billy and his friends are smart-mouths. Chapter XXXVIII, for example, is entitled “$ % // ! ? Blip * / & !” Hmmmm.

Another one begins with Billy and Alan nose to-nose: “‘You know what you are? You’re a bastard!’ ‘And you’re another.'”

But they are also clever, Billy in figuring out fifteen ways to make earthworms appetizing, and Alan and his buddy desperately devising plots to halt the worm eating. Then it looks like Billy has lost, after all, on the fifteenth day. But Chapter XXXIX (only five sentences, 42 words) is entitled, “The United States Cavalry Rides over the Hilltop.”

The book’s a blast. And, no, I don’t think you have to worry that your child, reading this book, might actually be tempted to eat an earthworm. No way. Remember, it IS a disgusting book! show less

Ingredients:



50 whole dollar bills

15 ripe earthworms

4 young boys

1 disgusting dare



Combine all ingredients into a small book, carefully mix with witty dialogue, stir in unforgettable characters, add a dash of nausea, a pinch of mischief and generously sprinkle with humorous chapters. Let stand for fifteen days, remove from bookshelf and enjoy in large helpings.

How to Eat Fried Worms is a recipe for fun, laughter and possibly an upset stomach. However, it is sure to please even the pickiest of young readers who are reluctant to try new things and tend to stick with those familiar authors or their favorite series.

The fun begins when a conversation over last night�s dinner of salmon casserole and one boy�s refusal to eat even two bites show more of it (yuck!), turns into a contest of I'd eat anything for enough money. Well, it turns out $50 is enough and anything happens to be fifteen worms. One worm a day for fifteen days adds up to some disgusting concoctions, some devious scheming, and a whole lot of fun.

The book is filled with such remarkably realistic adolescent behavior that you being to wonder if these kids might happen to be neighbors of yours. Billy, the main character and recipient of the 15 worms challenge, is drawn by the author with all the thoughts, actions, and unique characteristics that make for a believable character and one children can easily connect with. The remaining characters each add their own individual personalities and quirks and the interactions among the four boys are lively and entertaining.

More than just a book about four boys and a slightly disgusting premise, How to Eat Fried Worms is sure to entertain readers both young and old. Young readers, especially boys, can easily relate with the realistic characters and young girls can confirm their suspicions that their boy classmates might indeed be part of some alien race. Older readers will be transported back into a childhood where the only pressures come from trying to one up your friends and life�s biggest challenge is eating a worm.

Reviewed by Shaun show less

When four friends are together, what do you think happens when one of them annouces that they could eat anything?! the dares start coming out and Billy is faced with accepting a dare to eat 15 worms in 15 days for $50. He can use any condiment he wishes and cook them any way he wants, but he has to eat them all, or he loses. As the days tick by, his friends get increasingly nervous Billy will actually do it, so they pull out the psychological warefare. This leads to a fun, albeit icky, read. Challenged for: Profanity (the word “bastard”); depicts alcohol consumption (father has a beer).

This is one of these great old-school kids' books with a zany premise. Sure, fried worms are gross, but this story is a lot of fun, and way better than many of the "kids' books" written and published today.

I have so many wonderful memories of this book. I got it when I was very young, maybe four or five, and my uncle would read it to me and deliberately gross me out with dramatizations of the worms and stuff. It was the subject of many discussions and pretend-play, and I must have read it (and had it read to me) at LEAST fifteen times over the course of my childhood. It's a classic! The very thought will make you shiver, but you just can't stop reading, because omg is this kid seriously doing this??