With the Kids

How to Eat Fried Worms

Don’t worry, this post is not a recipe for Fried Worms! It’s our next Make and Takes Storytime. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell was a delightfully tasty chapter book to read with my 5 year old. Actually it was gross, but he loved it.

How to Eat Fried Worms

Billy has made a bet with his friends that he can eat 15 worms in 15 days. He gets $50 from his buddy if he succeeds. His friend doesn’t want to give up the money, so he keeps tricking him out of eating the worms. Billy’s mom even calls the doctor to make sure eating worms won’t poison him, then she gets in on the fun too. How does an Ice Cream Worm Sundae sound?

To celebrate our book, we watched the movie version of How to Eat Fried Worms that came out 2 years ago. Like almost all movies made from books, it was completely different. Still grossly fun to watch, but not really the same. We also ate some yummy gummy worms for a snack during the movie. For even more wormy goodness, check out this Teacher’s Worm Unit about the book.

If you’re not too skweemish, give this slimy book a try!

17 comments

  1. I have been reading novels and watching the corresponding movies with my children (ages 7,6, 2, and 2). On the night of the movie, we have a “name of the novel” party with themed ideas. Another food idea I thought of for this one was worms in the popcorn. I will probably looks for a word search cite to make word searches of items from the book. We are going to have hamburgers with “worms” (string cheese) on top. Green Bean Casserole with “worms” (onion slices) and then make Worm Popcicles and eat wormmy popcorn. I might have a few worm pages to color as well. I read another idea where you make worms out of felt fabric and put a pipecleaner in it, fill it, and then bend and shape it, so we might also do that and just have the kids fill it.

  2. i am reading how to eat fried worms im im the middle so far after reading ur comments i think going to enjoy reading it

    xxTimbo,10xx

  3. i am reading how to eat fried worms im im the middle so far after reading ur comments i think going to enjoy reading it

    xxTimbo,9xx

  4. I remember my mom reading this to us when we were little. I just started reading chapter books with my almost 5 year old, and was thinking about getting this one. Not sure if she’ll like it as much as her brother, but I’m sure she’ll still love it!

  5. I LOVE this idea! I’ve been wondering if MY 5 year old would enjoy this book or if it would be too old, now I think we’ll try it. Thanks! She’ll love reading it, then watching it while we eat wormy treats.

  6. What great suggested “wormy treats”! Dirt cups, chocolate covered chow mein noodles, and I love the idea to slice up wormy looking hot dogs.

    Kristin – Thanks for sharing what worms eat, fun site.

  7. I LOVED this book as a child. I am going to have to read this with my 4 and 6 year old. Thanks for the reminder, and for the activity ideas!

  8. whoops sorry something went wrong and i posted the same comment twice. sorry about that.. UGH … and now i leave another comment!

    I’m such a dork!

  9. i loved that book when i was younger, so when i saw the movie i rented it for my girls to watch. they thought it was funny but probably not as much as boys would. Oh well. LOL i got a kick out of it!

  10. I make my kids “worms” for lunch all the time. Just take a standard hot dog (we use the turkey dogs) and slice them into thin strips. Toss the strips into boiling water and let them boil for a few minutes. Drain the water and Voila! Worms for lunch!

  11. I used this book in my third grade class. I made chocolate-covered worms. The recipe is called Ting a Lings (chow mein noodles covered in chocolate). The kids didn’t quite believe me, but they weren’t sure what to think either.

  12. The name of this book has always intrigued me but I haven’t picked it up yet. I’m going to have to do that soon. Looks fun!

  13. I did so enjoy that book as a kid, I had just forgotten it! I love the idea of snacking on gummi worms with the movie! You could also make dirt cups (chocolate pudding topped with chocolate cake/oreo cookie/chocolate graham cracker crumbs with gummi worms hanging out)….I’m putting it on my list of things to do :)

  14. It’s fun when you get to pass on some of your childhood favorites to your kids. This was one of them for me, and I enjoyed every eek and eww I heard as I read this book to my monkeys.

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