How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell Turns 50 This Year. Does It Hold Up?

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Isabelle Popp has written each sorts of things, ranging from astrophysics probe articles and mathematics tests to crossword puzzles and poetry. These days she's penning romance. When she's not speechmaking oregon writing, she's astir apt knitting oregon scouring utilized publication stores for vintage gothic romance paperbacks. Originally from New York, she's arsenic amazed arsenic anyone that she lives successful Bloomington, Indiana.

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How to Eat Fried Worms is celebrating its 50th day this year. Would you see it a classic? I decidedly work it arsenic a kid getting into section novels. It was close astir the aforesaid clip arsenic Bunnicula and Sideways Stories from Wayside School fell into my anxious hands. It was a publication that sat alongside my dependable fare of Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary. I was funny if Fried Worms would clasp up against immoderate of these books that genuinely person classical presumption successful my mind. So I reread it.

Before I started, I jogged my representation to spot what I could callback of the publication connected my own. To the champion of my recollection, the publication is so astir a lad who has to devour worms. For a punishment? For a dare? I couldn’t remember. I did retrieve that the worms were prepared successful a assortment of ways. I thought it was funny, and I didn’t retrieve however it ended. In fact, the worm-eating was done arsenic a stake with $50 astatine stake. And the ending (spoiler for a 50-year-old book) portrays a kid who present has a sensation for worms.

A Challenged Book?!

the archetypal screen of How to Eat Fried Worms

As I began penning this, I consulted Wikipedia for the names of the characters successful the story. Despite having conscionable finished the publication days ago, I person already forgotten each the names. Wiki reminded maine our worm-eater is named Billy. More importantly, Wiki informed maine that How to Eat Fried Worms has been connected the American Library Association’s database of astir commonly challenged books successful the United States. Not lone due to the fact that the publication “promotes gambling,” but due to the fact that eating earthworms is “antisocial behavior.”

I honestly hide that sometimes radical get truly hung up connected the fearfulness of children becoming degenerate gamblers. Luckily for maine erstwhile I was a mediate schoolhouse mathematics teacher, nary 1 challenged the usage of dice oregon playing cards arsenic tools for learning probability — I legitimately learned however to play craps erstwhile I was successful mediate school! — but plentifulness of schools forbid specified things.

Eating worms, though? Thinking specified an enactment is antisocial behaviour is simply xenophobic. People astir the satellite eat worms! Obviously, determination are overmuch bigger worms to fry successful the conflict against book banning, but this is simply a large illustration of wherefore these complaints are exhausting.

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The Quaint

the Yearling screen of How To Eat Fried Worms

Back to the publication itself. How does it clasp up? It surely has its charms. At heart, it’s a conflict of wits betwixt 2 pairs of boys. Billy the worm-eater has his person Tom acting arsenic his second, similar successful a duel. Billy’s rival Alan and his person Joe strategy to instrumentality Billy into failing to devour 15 worms implicit the people of 15 days.

Gen-X and elder Millennial readers volition astir apt admit the nostalgia the publication calls up. These are 4 highly unsupervised boys. If your puerility progressive lazy summertime days spent wholly outdoors with the randos from your neighborhood, the publication volition nonstop you backmost there.

Billy plans to walk his winnings connected a minibike, which younger readers whitethorn person to google. Do they cognize that successful the ‘70s young kids played astir with tiny off-road motorcycles and sometimes lived to archer the tale? They besides mightiness beryllium confused wherefore someone’s dada would person a raccoon coat, arsenic is concisely mentioned. But I had a amusive sensory flashback to the raccoon coat, immoderate long-lost relative’s relic from the 1920s craze, that lived successful the overgarment closet of my puerility home.

Overall, the basal crippled of the publication is comic and enjoyable. Billy doesn’t person arsenic overmuch occupation eating worms arsenic Alan thought helium would. Alan cooks up immoderate strategy to cheat Billy retired of his win. Billy catches on, righteous indignation ensues, and the rhythm continues. In the end, they tin each thrust the minibike Billy buys with his winnings.

The Questionable

While I personally don’t person problems with kids gambling oregon eating worms, determination is simply a moving taxable successful the publication that does get maine down a bit: the sex politics. Persistently, the publication presents women arsenic radical who overreact portion the men are the calm voices of reason. The dads are the permissive ones reasoning it’s bully for boys to prosecute successful this benignant of tomfoolery, portion the ma is connected the telephone with the household doc (also a man) who has to assuage her fears.

It’s a bummer of a stereotype to travel across. So was the casual fatphobia, though I’ve surely work books published this twelvemonth with worse. Also, the publication has a moving bid of section titles comparing Billy’s broadside to the American forces successful World War II and Alan’s broadside to the Japanese. And that frankly conscionable sat existent weird with me.

What About the Movie?

Please judge my emotion for you, beloved reader, due to the fact that I subjected myself to each 80 unforgivably atrocious minutes of this movie. The longest 80 minutes of my life! I did not spot this movie upon its 2006 release, arsenic that was aft I stopped babysitting and earlier I started being subjected to children’s media again acknowledgment to the children of friends and family.

This movie has perfectly nary of the charm of the book, and virtually nary of the crippled either. If you’d anticipation a movie could close the wrongs of its forebear, that anticipation would beryllium misplaced. Its sex authorities seemed worse to me? The movie added a token miss character, who takes connected the relation of the miss who solves everything for the hapless lad without having a communicative of her own. That makes maine adjacent madder than the hysterical ma for immoderate crushed I don’t privation to investigate.

The movie swaps retired the conflict of wits for country aft country of gross-out and/or slapstick comedy. And it takes pains to marque “ethnic” foods similar burritos and Chinese takeout look disgusting, which besides did not beryllium good with my spirit. The lone 2 upsides to the movie: it ends connected Junior Senior’s rousing “Move Your Feet,” a large opus I hadn’t thought astir successful galore years. And the token miss is played by Hallie Eisenberg (sister to Jesse), which made maine look up her Pepsi commercials, which were the closest happening to a viral improvement we had successful the aboriginal ‘90s.

The Final Verdict

If this was 1 of your favourite books arsenic a kid and you privation to stock it with a kid of today, you surely could; it’s not abysmal. It’s besides not successful league with the aforementioned children’s classics from the mid-to-late 20th century. However, if you’re looking to get a kid into speechmaking section books, delight don’t commencement with the ones from your ain childhood. Go with the kid’s interests! Pick thing from the best of what’s being written today! Books that are conscionable good don’t person to beryllium work by the ages.

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