- Title:
- How to Eat Fried Worms
- By:
- Thomas Rockwell
- Pages:
- 118
- Rating:
- 3
People are always daring Billy to do zany things. But Billy may have bitten off more than he can chew when he takes his friend Alan’s bet that Billy can’t eat fifteen worms in fifteen days. If Billy wins, Alan has to fork over fifty dollars. Billy wants the money to buy a used minibike, so he’s ready to dig in. He sets up mustard and ketchup, salt and pepper, and sugar and lemon to disguise the disgusting taste.
Good news for Billy—once he gets going, he finds himself actually getting hooked on those juicy worms.
Bad news for Billy—Alan is busy cooking up schemes to make Billy worm out of the bet. Will Billy keep up his wormy work for fifteen days?
No cheating! Keep eating! Worm by worm by worm…
–back cover
This is one of those childhood classics, I first heard this on audio tape read by Lionel Wilson and he did a superb job. My remaining audio copy isn’t brilliant quality, as the digitising process left a lot to be desired, but his style shines through very well.
It’s a great story, and there’s a lot to talk about with children as it progresses. The scene where Billy’s father is being woken up still amuses me, and I really enjoyed rereading it today for the nostalgia value.