How to Eat Fried Worms
{{Short description|1973 children's book by Thomas Rockwell}}
{{For|the film based on the book|How to Eat Fried Worms (film)}}
{{Refimprove|date=October 2015}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox book|
| name = How to Eat Fried Worms
| image = How to Eat Fried Worms.jpg
| caption = First edition cover
| author = Thomas Rockwell
| illustrator = Emily McCully
| cover_artist =
| language = English
| series = Children's novel
| genre =
| publisher = Franklin Watts
| release_date = 1973
| english_release_date =
| media_type = Print
| pages = 115
| preceded_by =
| followed_by = How to Fight a Girl
}}
How to Eat Fried Worms is a children's book written by Thomas Rockwell, first published in 1973. The novel's plot involves a boy eating worms as part of a bet. It has been the frequent target of censors and appears on the American Library Association's list of most commonly challenged books in the United States of 1990–2000 at number 96.{{cite web|url=http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/1990_2000.cfm |title=100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000 |publisher=ALA |accessdate=February 15, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028091404/http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/1990_2000.cfm |archivedate=October 28, 2010 }} It was later turned into a CBS Storybreak episode in the mid-1980s, and a movie of the same name in 2006.
The story continues in two sequels: How to Fight a Girl and How to Get Fabulously Rich.
Plot summary
Alan bets his friend Billy that he can't eat 15 worms in 15 days. Billy, who needs money to buy a minibike, agrees to the bet only if Alan will pay him {{USD|50|1973|round=-1}} for the win. Their friend Tom says he'll assist Billy, while another friend, Joe, sides with Alan. They search for worms near Billy's family farm and come up with a handful of night crawler earthworms the size of large pencils. As Billy nears victory, he faces a flurry of nasty tricks and traps that go wildly out of control. Despite all this Billy wins the bet, and as a consequence is now hooked on worms.
See also
- {{Portal-inline|Children's literature}}