Retsy Series 1 · Card 0318 · 80-HNG

Forty-Foot Bookworm

Read a book. Grow the worm.

The library's summer reading program, where each finished book added a paper segment to a wall-length bookworm.

Card no.: 0318 of 1,280
Set: 80s Hangouts · 80-HNG
Year: 1983
Type: Library summer reading program
Found at: Public library, children's room
Cost back then: Free with a library card

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Nostalgia8/10

Hype5/10

Weirdness4/10

Trade value3/10

The story · 1983

The story of Forty-Foot Bookworm

Ms. Okafor taped a paper bookworm head above the card catalog in June, and by August it wrapped around the children's room twice. Every book you finished became a new segment with your name in crayon. Prizes came at five, ten and twenty books: an iron-on patch, a pencil topper, then a free summer swim pass. Bragging rights lasted all year.

Fun fact

One summer the bookworm grew so long that it escaped the children's room and curled into the reference section.

Six finishes

187 copies of Forty-Foot Bookworm exist

Forty-Foot Bookworm comes in six finishes: 100 Base, 50 Holo, 25 Laser and 10 Gold copies, plus one Super Laser and one Misprint that exist exactly once. Every copy is minted to the wallet that rips it, with its own serial number.

Forty-Foot Bookworm, Retsy card 0318 in the Base finish — **Base**100 copies · Common

Forty-Foot Bookworm, Retsy card 0318 in the Holo finish — **Holo**50 copies · Uncommon

Forty-Foot Bookworm, Retsy card 0318 in the Laser finish — **Laser**25 copies · Rare

Forty-Foot Bookworm, Retsy card 0318 in the Gold finish — **Gold**10 copies · Very rare

Forty-Foot Bookworm, Retsy card 0318 in the Super Laser finish — **Super Laser**1 copy · 1 of 1

Forty-Foot Bookworm, Retsy card 0318 in the Misprint finish — **Misprint**1 copy · 1 of 1

80-HNG

More from 80s Hangouts

Forty-Foot Bookworm is one of 32 cards in the 80s Hangouts set. Here are the other 31.