Thomas Rhodes Rockwell (born March 13, 1933) is an American author of children's books. Rockwell is the son of the American artist

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

and his then-wife Mary Rockwell, an unpublished author. He grew up in

Arlington, Vermont Arlington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,457 at the 2020 census. History The town of Arlington was chartered July 28, 1761, by New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth, as part of the New Hampshire ...

, a very rural small town. He attended a one-room schoolhouse; there were 23 students in his high school graduating class. His early mentors were Jim and Clara Edgarton, local farmers. Jacob M. Appel
"Thomas Rockwell, Writer: Where Fried Worms Come From"
Education Update (educationupdate.com). March 2003. Retrieved September 12, 2014. He attended

Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1860, ...

. He says he always wanted to write. He was the uncredited ghostwriter of his father's autobiography, ''My Adventures as an Illustrator''. He got the idea of writing children's books when he started reading to his own son. His wife Gail illustrated several of his books. His best-known book is ''

How to Eat Fried Worms ''How to Eat Fried Worms'' is a children's book written by Thomas Rockwell, first published in 1973. The novel's plot involves a boy eating worms as part of a bet. It has been the frequent target of censors and appears on the American Library ...

'' (1973), about a boy who accepts a $50 bet that he can eat 15 worms in 15 days. Although it was rejected by 23 publishers before finally coming out in print, the book sold 3 million copies and received the

Mark Twain Award The Mark Twain Readers Award, or simply Mark Twain Award, is a children's book award which annually recognizes one book selected by vote of Missouri schoolchildren from a list prepared by librarians and volunteer readers. It is now one of four M ...

, the California Young Reader Medal, and the

Sequoyah Book Award The Sequoyah Book Award is a set of three annual awards for books selected by vote of Oklahoma students in elementary, middle, and high schools. The award program is named after Sequoyah (–1843), the Cherokee man who developed the Cherokee sylla ...

. It was made into an animated TV episode of ''

CBS Storybreak ''CBS Storybreak'' is a Saturday morning anthology television series that originally aired on the CBS network from 1985 to 1989. Hosted by Bob Keeshan (and in its 1993 return by Malcolm-Jamal Warner), the episodes are half-hour animated adaptation ...

'' in 1985 and was filmed as a theatrical release in 2006. He now lives in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

Selected publications

* ''Rackety-bang, and other verses'', illustrated by Gail Rockwell (1969) * ''Squawwwk!'', illustrated by Gail Rockwell (1972) * ''

'' (1973) – * ''The Portmanteau Book'', illustrated by Gail Rockwell (1994) * '' How to Fight a Girl'' (1987) – sequel to ''How to Eat Fried Worms'' * '' How to Get Fabulously Rich'' (1990)

References

External links

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Gail Rockwell
at LC Authorities, with 6 records 1969–76 Living people 1933 births Norman Rockwell American people of English descent People from Bennington County, Vermont Writers from Poughkeepsie, New York Place of birth missing (living people) Bard College alumni People from Arlington, Vermont {{US-child-writer-stub