Module 2: How to Eat Fried Worms

(Barnes&Noble, n.d.)

Book Summary

In Thomas Rockwell’s How to Eat Fried Worms, a bet is made between two boys, Billy and Alan. Alan bets that Billy cannot eat one worm a day for fifteen days, but Billy says he can. The loser has to cough up a whopping $50—enough to buy a much-desired minibike. Billy has the support of his friend Tom while Alan conspires with Joe. Alan and Joe have the job of providing the worms, and Billy has the job of eating them; but Billy can cover the worms in as many condiments as he likes—he just has to swallow them. Billy has a difficult time gulping down the first couple of worms, but, much to the anxiety of Alan and Joe, he really starts to get comfortable with eating worms. Alan and Joe start to get worried that they may lose the bet, and they come up with mischievous plans to trick Billy, like gluing two worms together to make a two-foot long worm, making up stories about the hazards of worm-eating to one’s health, faking a note from the doctor, and even taking Billy to a baseball game to stuff him with all sorts of candy and treats so he would fall asleep before remembering to eat his worm for the day. Even the boys’ parents get involved, with Billy’s mom making a delicious worm meal for Billy called Whizband Worm Delight. The four boys have an exciting and tumultuous two weeks of trickery, cheating, fighting, and anxiety as Billy does everything he can to gulp down 15 worms (with the help of Tom) while Alan and Joe do everything they can to stop him. Ultimately, Billy overcomes and he wins the bet, winning $50 to buy the minibike. In the epilogue, we find out that Billy actually continues to eat worms after the bet is over—it turns out he’s hooked.

APA Reference of Book

Rockwell, T. (1973). How to eat fried worms. New York, NY: Franklin Watts.

Impressions

I really enjoyed this book! I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was quickly hooked on the story after the first chapter. Rockwell does an excellent job of using details and imagery in describing both people and settings that allows the story to come alive. For instance, in chapter 7, the description of Billy and Tom’s daydream about what they will do with the minibike when they win is so detailed and descriptive that it is easy to envision. These types of details also shed light on the characters, not just in terms of what they look like or how they act, but also in terms of their feelings and their motivations for behaving.

The plot itself is also very satisfying. Tension slowly builds from beginning to end with the four boys at odds, each desperately wanting to win the bet at the other’s expense, trying all sorts of strategies to get past each other that are humorous and entertaining. Each of the boys has something at stake ($50, a minibike, pride, getting into trouble), and these feel like real stakes for boys that age. It is interesting to see how the boys react to the pressure, and I wanted to keep reading to see who won and what happened. The story felt simple but engaging at the same time.

The characters were also created very skillfully—they felt round, dynamic, and authentic. The characters were not portrayed to be “black and white” as in there was a clear protagonist and antagonist. Rather, the boys each had their virtues and their flaws (maybe some more than others) that seemed real to life. Even Billy and Tom, who are supposedly on the same side, are at odds at one point in the story. And the ways in which the boys felt brave, scared, and extremely competitive all at the same time seemed to ring true, especially with boys of that age. In addition, Rockwell included details and descriptions that made the characters unique and recognizable, like creating a habit that Alan gnaws on his thumbnail whenever he is nervous or anxious. My only complaint is that the dialogue for the boys occasionally did not feel authentic because of the sophisticated descriptions and flowery language, which were beautiful and detailed, but not necessarily the way a young boy would speak, like when Joe describes the made-up story of how his parents dramatically reacted when they thought he had eaten a worm in chapter 5. Joe describes the scene so well, with the art of a skilled author, but not necessarily in the manner of a young boy.

Overall, the story felt authentic. The circumstances under which the bet came about seem like things that could actually happen. And although I think this book can be appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed by a wide range of ages and reading levels, it felt like this would be an ideal book for reluctant boy readers to get them interested in reading because the chapters are short and quick, and the plot encourages readers to continue reading. At the same time, I think Rockwell is a sophisticated writer, and he also includes big words that can help young readers build their vocabulary. (For instance, he uses the word “indignant” on page 45. But he also puts it next to the word “stubborn” so young readers can understand its meaning.)

I loved reading this book. I think this is a timeless story that will continue to be entertaining for many different types of readers: boys and girls, young and old, eager and reluctant readers. The ending was satisfying, but I was sad to put this one down.

Professional Review

On barnesandnoble.com, Elizabeth Fresse (n.d.) provided a review of How to Eat Fried Worms:

Alan has bet Billy fifty dollars that he can't eat fifteen worms in fifteen days. Billy decides he is up to the challenge, so he begins a long process to get down fifteen worms. The first few were hard for Billy, but once he was sure that he would suffer no ill effects, the rest were easy to eat. The challenge came in actually eating them, since Alan was not ready to lose fifty dollars. As trick after trick is tried and Billy sees through each one, the drama increases. Even the boys' parents get involved, at times helping Billy eat his worms but at times almost ruining the whole thing. This was a very comical book that any boy or tomboy should enjoy. It would be a great tool in opening the door to discussing betting, even small bets, and the risks that it involves. It also deals with friends doing things that upset each other, and how to get past the issues that arise and continue being friends after the incident is over. (Editorial Reviews section, para. 2)

(Mr. Food Test Kitchen, n.d.)

Library Uses

This title would be ideal to include in a book display of books for reluctant readers. But I also think this book would be a great read-aloud for upper elementary school students. A librarian could read an excerpt from the book as an introduction to a writing exercise during which the students can imagine and describe in one page what it would be like to eat something gross, like fried worms. The students can then read aloud what they wrote. A fun and yummy, yet related, snack that could be made by the kids after the exercise is dirt cups (made with gummy worms, chocolate pudding, and crushed oreos). 

References

Barnes&Noble. (n.d.). How to eat fried worms. Retrieved from

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Fresse, E. (n.d.). Editorial reviews [Review of the book How to eat fried worms, by T.

Rockwell]. Barnes&Noble. Retrieved from http://www.barnesandnoble.com 

Mr. Food Test Kitchen. (n.d.). Dirt cups. Retrieved from http://www.mrfood.com

Module 1: Miss Smith and the Haunted Library

Book Summary

(Booklist Online, 2009)

In Miss Smith and the Haunted Library, the spiky-haired and leather jacket wearing teacher, Miss Smith, takes her class to the library, a dark and ominous-looking building. At the library, the class meets the librarian, Virginia Creeper, who reads spooky stories from Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook. To the amazement of the children, the stories’ characters come alive and appear out of the storybook as Ms. Creeper reads, including characters like the Headless Horseman and Frankenstein. The students are scared at first, but when Ms. Creeper stops reading from the Incredible Storybook, she starts handing out cider and cookies, and a party begins—the children start having fun with the spooky characters. However, they lose track of time, and before they know it, the seniors are showing up for their book club, and the storybook characters are still in the library. The class quickly cleans up, and a student, Zach, reads the ends of the stories in order to get the characters back into the storybook. The students borrow books of spooky stories from the library to take home with them. But it is only Zach on the last page who notices a spooky character through the window who was forgotten and never went back into the storybook.

APA Reference of Book

Garland, M. (2009). Miss Smith and the haunted library. New York, NY: Dutton Children’s Books.

Impressions

My first impression of Miss Smith and the Haunted Library was that the illustrations are vivid, colorful, and dynamic, and Michael Garland utilized shading in a manner that made the pictures look 3-dimensional (which seemed appropriate for a story about characters popping out of an incredible storybook). The illustrations reminded me of the graphics found in Pixar animated films, and I think kids are particularly attracted to this type of animated style that appears to be computer-generated. Furthermore, the illustrations revealed diverse and unique-looking characters that challenge the stereotypes for teachers (with a teacher who has short, spiky, red hair; a leather jacket; red-framed glasses; and red sneakers) and librarians (with a librarian who has short, blue hair, purple lipstick; and purple fingernails). I can imagine children wanting to have edgy teachers and librarians like Miss Smith and Virginia Creeper. The children also are portrayed as being diverse, showing kids of all different skin colors.

I also appreciated this story because it makes the library and the activity of reading exciting and attractive to children. This story encourages children to engage in reading, sending a message that children are given access to other worlds and they meet amazing characters when they pick up a book and read. Throughout this story, the library felt like an exciting place to be, and the children are shown to be happy to take library books home with them.

The plot of the story was interesting and engaging, and it offers an opportunity for children to learn about some spooky creatures from classic literature. At the same time, I felt like something was missing from this story. I think the characters, although unique-looking, still felt flat and distant to me. Most of the story focused on plot development but did not allow for much character development. For instance, the story is narrated in the third person, but one student, Zach, appeared to be the main character of this story (since the first page focuses on him and the story is at times told from his perspective). But we do not learn much about Zach aside from the fact that Miss Smith is his favorite teacher and that he is frightened or excited because of the events unfolding before him. It seemed like this was supposed to be Zach’s story, but, as a reader, I felt too distant from Zach to feel like it truly was his story. I wonder how my experience would change if the story were told in a first person narrative by Zach himself.  

However, I did enjoy the surprise ending: on the second-to-last page, there is a spooky creature lurking in the background that no one in the story notices. (I did not notice it at first either until my third or fourth reading of the book.) I think children would be excited to notice this “secret” detail; to know something that the story’s characters do not know I think makes readers feel special. Furthermore, I appreciated the additional literary information provided in the back of the book that extends the experience of the story and that offers educational opportunities. In the very back, references are provided for where readers can find the spooky characters that were brought to life in real books and stories, many of which are classic tales (as told by the Brothers Grimm, for instance).

Professional Review

In a review from Booklist Online, John Peters (2009) stated:

Garland recycles the plot of Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook (2003) but adds some new faces. The leather-jacketed teacher lends her magical storybook to librarian Virginia Creeper, and, as before, all sorts of recognizable characters literally leap up from the pages as the class looks on in glee. The literary cast, ranging from the Headless Horseman to the Hound of the Baskervilles, party in the library until the senior citizens’ book club shows up, whereupon all are sucked back into the storybook. Bright, opaque colors, canted perspectives, and crowded compositions give the art in this feel-good-about-reading tale plenty of energy. (para. 1)

Library Uses

I think this is a great seasonal story to use for a program around Halloween. It seems to be appropriate for a wide range of ages because it is not too scary for young kids, but it is still exciting enough for older kids (through second or third grade approximately). Specifically, I think this story could be used for a library’s After School Program with Kindergarten through third graders. The references in the back of this book provide an opportunity for the librarian to find the books on this reference page and set these additional books out for the children to look at during the program. After the librarian reads the story aloud to the group, the children could participate in a “character hunt” where they are assigned a certain creature and they have to try and find the book in which their creature resides. The children could also participate in a craft activity of making a mask that looks like their spooky creature. As a literature lesson, the librarian could also tell the children more about classic storytellers and story collectors, like the Brothers Grimm, whose stories created (or made popular) a lot of the spooky creatures we still know and see in stories today.

References

Booklist Online. (2009, June 16). Booklist review. Retrieved from

http://www.booklistonline.com/

Peters, J. (2009, June 16). Booklist review [Review of the book Miss Smith and the Haunted

Library, by M. Garland]. Booklist Online. Retrieved from 

http://www.booklistonline.com/