History Main / LiteralBookworm

* ''ComicBook/SpiderHam'': The Bookworm is villain appearing in "TV or Not TV, [[EitherOrTitle Or... Read a Good Book Lately?]]". He's an earthworm whose parents were librarians and instilled him with a deep love for books. He became a librarian himself, but had to close down the library when television sets became a household standard. Some time thereafter, a book fell on his head and The Bookworm became a low-key RealityWarper with the skill to summon literary figures into existence, order them around, and dismiss them out of existence. In order, he summons [[Literature/TheThreeMusketeers The Three Muskrateers]], Literature/TheRaven, and [[Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Quasidodo]] to ruin the [[UsefulNotes/EmmyAward Eggy Awards]], destroy the state-of-the-art dish of a new television network, and kill Spider-Ham. Spider-Ham defeats The Bookworm by dropping another book on his head to remove his powers.

* ''WesternAnimation/MGMOneshotCartoons'': Two cartoon feature a literal bookworm, whose vast knowledge comes from him literally devouring books and who [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor wishes his life was more exciting]]. His friends and adversaries are the characters written about in books that are capable of stepping out of the pages.

* ''Literature/TheBerenstainBears'': In the Living Books adaptation of ''The Berenstain Bears in the Dark'', clicking on one of the books in the library will cause a glasses-wearing bookworm to pop out, who rubs his tummy in satisfaction and says, "Mm! I love a good book."

->''"A bookworm! A bookworm! I'm nothing but a bookworm! I'm full of science and philosophy! A bookworm! A bookworm! I'm nothing but a bookworm! Nothing ever happens to me!"''

SubTrope of {{Bookworm}}; a literal bookworm is always wormly, so examples of other kinds of reading bugs go on the SuperTrope. Depictions of [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs real-life bookworms]] and the damage they do also don't qualify for this trope. Compare TermiteTrouble, another destructive bug, and TheShortGuyWithGlasses, who also tends to be short and studious.

* ''VideoGame/{{Culdcept}} Second'': Book Worm is a water-type monster with an item limit for scrolls. It looks like a fleshy worm with a {{Lamprey Mouth}} and is the bane of magic users whose spell books and scrolls it consumes.

* ''VideoGame/Culdcept Second'': Book Worm is a water-type monster with an item limit for scrolls. It looks like a fleshy worm with a {{Lamprey Mouth}} and is the bane of magic users whose spell books and scrolls it consumes.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Plasmo}}'': "Plasmo and the Bookworm" features a large bookworm that has bored through various books at the library, in an attempt to gain their knowledge. All he's gained instead is a bad case of indigestion, and has trouble using the books to learn how to read, as he's now forced to used "the abridged version".

They're a common face in children's entertainment: [[VisualPun literal bookworms]], tubiform bugs that live inside or surrounded by books. Their default depiction is that of keepers of knowledge, which is followed closely by another portrayal of insatiable book munchers. At times, the two versions overlap when the bookworm has the power to [[InstantExpert acquire knowledge]] by [[IngestingKnowledge eating books instead of reading them]]. The duality is reflected in the design choices. Purely destructive bookworms look like (stylized) regular insects, while it is a rarity for the knowledge-acquiring bookworm to not be an AccessoryWearingCartoonAnimal. NerdGlasses and neckties are the usual two attributes. Literal bookworms are AlwaysMale, possibly because BoysLikeCreepyCritters. They are prone to either having an {{Alliterative Name}}, or to simply [[ADogNamedDog be named "Bookworm"]].

* In "Alice in Bugville" of ''Alice: New Adventures in Wonderland'' #10, Alice finds a bookworm living in her dictionary. He introduces himself as Eustace R. Bookworm and invites her to come to Bugville with him to talk with the other bugs about the impending visit from the exterminator, shrinking her with his own insectisizer invention. With Bookworm's guidance, an agreement is reached that the exterminator will be called off and the bugs stop being pests.
* Merksmir Lettermampf ("Merksmir Lettermunch") from ''Diddl'' is a yellow-and-purple striped bookworm who wears a fez with built-in booklight, a pince-nez, and a bow tie. He lives in the library of Professor [=DiddlDaddl=] Bubblebang in Cheesecakeland, having moved there from Bibliotheca some time prior. He's very knowledgeable due to all the books he's eaten and the one thing he doesn't know, his date of birth, is a sore spot.

* One ''[[ComicBook/LooneyTunes Mary Jane and Sniffles]]'' comic in Four Color Comics #402 sees the two protagonists come to the aid of a spelling bee and his hive, which is under attack by bumblebees. The trio escapes capture and finds sanctuary with a [[SmartPeopleSpeakTheQueensEnglish Queen's English-speaking]] bookworm, Chopper J. Binding, inside the M-volume of an encyclopedia. He buys them time to come up with a plan.

* The protagonists of "The Old Swap Shop", a series published in ''Jingle Jangle Comics'' starting #25, are Curly, a bespectacled bookworm with a grad cap who lives inside a book, and Ambrose, a living centauroid lampbase. Between them, Ambrose is the levelheaded one, while Curly is smart but impulsive and fond of eating. At night, they roam freely through the store and interact with the other living items and entities in the shop, going so far as to on occasion enter books and pictures, where Curly is at home too.
* The Bookworm is an enemy of ComicBook/SpiderHam that appears in "TV or Not TV, [[EitherOrTitle Or... Read a Good Book Lately?]]". He's an earthworm whose parents were librarians and instilled him with a deep love for books. He became a librarian himself, but had to close down the library when television sets became a household standard. Some time thereafter, a book fell on his head and The Bookworm became a low-key RealityWarper with the skill to summon literary figures into existence, order them around, and dismiss them out of existence. In order, he summons [[Literature/TheThreeMusketeers The Three Muskrateers]], Literature/TheRaven, and [[Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Quasidodo]] to ruin the [[UsefulNotes/EmmyAward Eggy Awards]], destroy the state-of-the-art dish of a new television network, and kill Spider-Ham. Spider-Ham defeats The Bookworm by dropping another book on his head to remove his powers.

[[folder:Films - Animated]]
* In ''Secret of the Wings'' of ''WesternAnimation/DisneyFairies'', Tinker Bell looks for information on why her wings sparkle in the Library. Specifically, she seeks out the book ''Wingology'', but the pages relevant to her question have just been eaten by a bookworm. Said bookworm quickly makes itself scarce.
* Pico from ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicVoyage'' is a woodworm, but he also functions as a literal bookworm. As much as he eats wood, he eats books and this is why he's so knowledgeable. He meets UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus when the latter wants to propose that the world is a cube rather than flat, at which point Pico jumps in to correct him that the world is an orb. It is the start of a beautiful friendship.

* The Globglogabgalab of ''WesternAnimation/StrawinskyAndTheMysteriousHouse'' takes things to uncomfortable new heights. Not only does he sing about books, he also depends on them for sustenance, eating their thoughts and ideas by shrinking and absorbing himself into the books, and upon emerging, caresses himself and giggles with glee from these feeding sessions. He used to be a handsome elf, but exposure to books turned him into wormly humanoid blob.

[[folder:Films - Live Action]]
* In ''Film/TheHuggaBunch'', Bridget Severson seeks a [[FountainOfYouth youth medicine]] for her grandmother and visits the elderly Bookworm who resides within a mountain of giant books in Hugga Land because he is supposed to know everything. While not sympathetic to Bridget's plight, because aging is a part of life, he tells her about the Youngberry Tree in the Country of Shrugs, which one of his giant books is a gate to. If Bridget gives her grandmother one of the tree's fruits, she'll become young again. However, the Country of Shrugs is a dangerous place and the Bookworm is confident Bridget won't ever return from it.

* The poem "Bookworm" is about a worm who used to eat two books a day until he found that reading them was more fun.
* The poem "Bookworms: How to Kill" by John Dovaston describes bookworms as voracious vermin which only true enemy are the readers that take the books from them.
* The worm, Will, in ''Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship'' by Edward Hemingway likes to read. When he goes to live inside the apple Mac, he regularly reads him stories.
* There's the creature in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' known as the 0.303" Bookworm. This evolved in magical libraries and is capable of eating through a whole shelf of semi-sentient magical texts so quickly that they don't have a chance to respond. The ping and richochet of the 0.303" Bookworm is yet another thing that makes magical libraries a hazardous place to work.
* One entry of ''A Phenomenal Fauna'' by Carolyn Wells is dedicated to bookworms. It's one of the entries with an illustration, which depict bookworms with booklights on their heads. The entry suggests that [[{{pun}} (early) reedbirds]] are their natural enemies.
* In Creator/RichardScarry's book ''Literature/GreatBigSchoolhouse'', the scene in the school library has Lowly Worm looking on from behind books on the bookshelf.

* There are two puppet bookworms named Aristotle (yellow with a bowtie) and Horace (blue with glasses) in ''Series/HiFive House''. They're part of the cast of The Chatterbox segment, which aims to teach the audience the English language.
* The Bookworm is the mascot and one of the hosts of ''Series/TheBookPlace''.
* One of the main characters of ''Series/WielieWalie'' is Bennie Boekwurm, an elderly bookworm who loves to read stories either in the quiet of his home or to others.
* Benji the Bookworm is the earthworm mascot of ''Series/YourChildCanDiscover'' and participates in various segments.

* The release of the ''Monster Manual II'' in 1983 introduced bookworms to the world of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. They are tiny worms with {{Lamprey Mouth}}s and ChameleonCamouflage. While harmless to people, bookworms can prove to be the undoing of anyone dependent on books and scrolls, such as magic users. The bookworms' own bane is ink, which they can't digest and which stacks up in their bodies until it poisons them. On the plus side, the ink stored inside their corpses is a potent ingredient for AntiMagic.

* In the Living Books adaptation of ''Literature/TheBerenstainBears in the Dark'', clicking on one of the books in the library will cause a glasses-wearing bookworm to pop out, who rubs his tummy in satisfaction and says, "Mm! I love a good book."

* Among the many {{pun}}-based enemies in the library of ''VideoGame/CrayonChronicles'' are Arrogant Book Worms. They're green worms with glasses and a grad cap sticking out of an apple.

* The ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' Blipbug is based off a bookworm. Its eyes don't have pupils and have the appearance of glasses and its neck has pieces that resemble a bow tie. According to Pokedex entries, Blipbug is a constant collector of information and is very intelligent.
* Enraged Bookworms are enemies encountered in ''VideoGame/{{Tibia}}'' in Yalahar Library during the Shadows of Yalahar Quest. They're fairly weak and turn into fishing bait upon defeat.
* ''Word Rescue'' has a green, bespectacled worm named Benny Bookworm as one of the protagonists. The player character has to help him steal back all the words stolen by the Gruzzles and return them to their books. In the sequel, ''Math Rescue'', he becomes Benny Butterfly, meaning Benny was a caterpillar in the first game.

* Om Nom and Om Nelle visit the library in "Bookworm" of ''WebAnimation/OmNomStories''. Om Nom is enthusiastic about getting to read a particular book, but upon opening it finds that it is mostly consumed by a pesky purple worm. Said worm proceeds to openly antagonize Om Nom and eat even more books until Om Nelle freezes the both of them.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Professor Lexicovermus from ''WebComic/AwfulHospital'' is a hyperdimensional bookworm who lives in a book who was [[AndIMustScream once a man.]]
* Socrates's main friend in ''Webcomic/SocratesTheHousefly'' is Bookworm, who's always with his nose in the books and a tad haughty. Socrates regularly asks him for advice.

* Two WesternAnimation/MGMOneshotCartoons feature a literal bookworm, whose vast knowledge comes from him literally devouring books and who [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor wishes his life was more exciting]]. His friends and adversaries are the characters written about in books that are capable of stepping out of the pages.

* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': Debuting in the short "Sniffles And The Bookworm", a worm with glasses is occasionally seen as a companion to Sniffles The Mouse.
* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Plasmo}}'' episode "Plasmo and the Bookworm" features a large bookworm that has bored through various books at the library, in an attempt to gain their knowledge. All he's gained instead is a bad case of indigestion, and has trouble using the books to learn how to read, as he's now forced to used "the abridged version".
* Bosley Bookworm of ''[[WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures]]'' is a bookworm and assistant of Blueberry Muffin at Blueberry Books, a book store and library located in Berry Bitty City. Whenever she needs advice, she knows to ask Bosley.
* Timon and Pumbaa visit the library in "Library Brouhaha" of ''WesternAnimation/TimonAndPumbaa'' with the express purpose of dining on a bookworm. The resident bookworm defends itself by coaxing the duo into making noise time and time again, for which the librarian kicks them out. Another attempt sees all three be crushed by a bookcase, causing them to temporarily be [[TrappedInTVLand transported to book land]] and thereafter be sent to the hospital. While all bandaged up, Timon and Pumbaa attack the bookworm and finally eat it.
* The original Bookworm from the ''Sniffles'' shorts returns in ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' as the librarian of the Looniversity. There's also a student counterpart of him who shares his name. This Bookworm is a small, cute, green, bespectacled bookworm who loves reading books as well as eating them as they are his primary food source. Sweetie regularly attempts to eat him, but always fails one way or another.
[[/folder]]

They're a common face in children's entertainment: literal bookworms, tubiform bugs that live inside or surrounded by books. Their default depiction is that of keepers of knowledge, which is followed closely by another portrayal of insatiable book munchers. At times, the two versions overlap when the bookworm has the power to [[InstantExpert acquire knowledge]] by [[IngestingKnowledge eating books instead of reading them]]. The duality is reflected in the design choices. Purely destructive bookworms look like (stylized) regular insects, while it is a rarity for the knowledge-acquiring bookworm to not be an AccessoryWearingCartoonAnimal. NerdGlasses and neckties are the usual two attributes. Literal bookworms are AlwaysMale, possibly because BoysLikeCreepyCritters. They are prone to either having an {{Alliterative Name}}, or to simply [[ADogNamedDog be named "Bookworm"]].