How to Eat Fried Worms (Censorship (Ready Reference series))
At a glance:
- Author: Thomas Rockwell
- First Published: 1973
- Type of Work: Juvenile fiction
- Genres: Long fiction, Children’s literature
- Subjects: Children, Wit or humor, Boys, Worms
The Work
Billy, the protagonist of this story, proves himself equal to the challenge of eating fifteen worms in fifteen days by devising a variety of dishes to disguise their taste. Thomas Rockwell’s graphic descriptions of these dishes is humor of a type that appeals to middle-graders, but it alarmed some parents and adult library users. Parents complained of the book’s violence and vulgarity. For example, a Middletown, New Jersey, parent tried to have the book banned from a local library in 1988. This attempt failed; however, the book was removed from the Livelle Elementary School library in La Paz, Indiana, in 1991, after a library patron complained the book used the word “bastard.”
See Also:
- - For teachers, the How to Eat Fried Worms Lesson Plan.
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