How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

However, and that all being said, I guess I can to a point both still see and appreciate the lasting appeal of How to Eat Fried Worms (and in particular for girls and especially boys between the ages of eight to around twelve) after all, my eleven year old self absolutely loved this. I mean, eating fifteen large earthworms (nightcrawlers) for a silly wager, while this might have appealed to me as an eleven year old, as an adult, it makes me rather shudder (and I actually also feel sorry and some compassion for the poor worms, and especially the last nightcrawler that is literally consumed alive, not to mention that Billy's and Alan's bet is for something like fifty dollars, a pretty large amount of money that could in my opinion encourage imitation, even gambling). For the antics of Billy Forrester and his friends (and of course, his adversaries, his nemeses), they now leave me, at best, only very mildly amused, and more often than not actually rather majorly annoyed. How to Eat Fried Worms is a ghastly gastronomical treat that will dazzle young listeners.Although Thomas Rockwell's How to Eat Fried Worms was very much a personal favourite when it was read to me (to our whole class) in grade five, as an adult rereading this novel, I unfortunately feel that How to Eat Fried Worms has lost much if not most of its charm, in other words, that it has not aged all that well.

Sanders derives obvious pleasure from reading (and singing) out loud the hilarious rhymes and childish chants concocted from the mind of the book's author, Thomas Rockwell.

Luckily, Billy's friends cook up these fat juicy grubs in a variety of appetizing ways-drenched in ketchup and mustard, fried in butter and cornmeal, and the pièce de résistance, a Whizband Worm Delight (an ice-cream worm cake). Billy must eat 15 worms in 15 days-but the reward will be worth it: $50 for a shiny new minibike. He throws himself into the role of a 10-year-old boy, facing the most revolting bet of his life. Sanders gives extra kick and vitality to this already lively yarn.

Now youngsters can experience this classic story in a whole new yucky way, by listening to it on audiocassette. How to Eat Fried Worms has happily repulsed children since its original publication in 1973.

How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell