How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

Book vs. movie 1 of 3

This book would be a great read for boys because it was about boys doing what boys do best, getting into mischief. The movie was also about boys being boys and getting into mischief. Both the book and the movie wrapped the story around the main character, Billy eating worms because of a bet, and both are about friendships. However, this was where the similarities end.

The movie started out as Billy being the new kid at school and being bullied by Joe. In the book school was not an issue and Billy and Joe were already friends. In the movie, the bet was ten worms in one day between Billy and Joe with the loser putting worms in his pants and walking down the hall at school. In the book, the bet was fifteen worms in fifteen days between Billy and Alan with Alan paying Billy $50 if he eats all of the worms. In the movie, the boys fixed the worms in a variety of ways, but in the book, all the worms were fried or boiled. In the movie, the boys got into mischief when they were trying to get the worms cooked, but in the book, the mischief was between the boys. In the book the boys complained about cheating, they argued, and fought. In the book, the only time cheating was mentioned was at the end when Joe threw the last worm in the river to keep Billy from getting it in time. In the book, there were no girls mentioned except for the boys’ mothers, however in the movie, a girl was the first person to become friends with Billy and helps him out all throughout the movie. In the book, Billy was the only person to eat a worm, but in the movie, Adam almost eats one and the principle of their school eats one in an omelet.

The movie used humor to communicate its message and it ended with Billy and Joe becoming friends. This was one of those movies you walked away from with a warm fuzzy feeling. The book ended with Billy getting his mini-bike and Joe working off the $50 bet at his father’s store. In both the movie the boys became friends and in the book the boys reestablish their friendship. I liked the movie better because he focused on more than just eating worms.