MUSCATINE, Iowa — Betty Collins knows that most Muscatine Community School District principals aren’t accustomed to chewing up crickets, so she came prepared.

Becky Wichers, Shane Williams, Joe Prosek and Joelle McConnaha promised to eat chocolate-covered crickets if the 1,060 Muscatine children and teens enrolled in the library’s summer reading program carried out a commitment to read a collective 15,000 books.

The kids read 17,554 books, and the principals, along with Collins and teen librarian Tina Miksch, kept their word Tuesday during a morning and afternoon program at the library.

Wichers, principal at Grant Elementary, and McConnaha of Washington Elementary either didn’t attempt or were simply unable to keep expressions of borderline alarm from registering on their faces as Collins displayed samples of the edible bugs that would be consumed.

The principals were served sparkling water in lemon-garnished cocktail glasses to assist them in swallowing the chocolate-coated crickets they were served, and Muscatine High School sophomore Giles Joslyn serenaded them with violin music.

Those amenities helped ease the squeamishness, but  McConnaha was still a little troubled.

“I hope I don’t get sick,” she said.

“Get your cameras ready,” said Williams, principal of Jefferson Elementary. “I’m predicting a puker.”

McConnaha was the last principal to down a cricket and the children burst forth in a riotous chant of “Eat it. Eat it!” when her turn approached.

McConnaha, face red and eyes watering, flashed the crowd two big thumbs down as she let the cricket settle in her mouth.

Wichers said she had fun meeting — and eating — the challenge.

“Betty promised us the chocolate would be good,” said Wichers.

Collins and Miksch took things a step further, dining on a full meal of tossed salad, garlic bread and pasta “wormadoro,” sprinkled with crunchy meal worms and specially treated scorpion carcasses, prepared by Musser reference librarian Dan Chapman, alias, “Chef Wiggins.”

“The scorpion was the hardest to get down,” Collins said afterward. “You couldn’t swallow it whole and it didn’t chew up that well.”

The children went home with gummy worms and real bugs encrusted in candy suckers.

Austin McDaniel, 4, who came to the program with brothers, Brady, 6, and twin Marcus, said he wouldn’t eat his sucker, but he believed his dad would enjoy it.

“I think he’ll eat the bug first!” said Austin with enthusiasm.

Some parents were a bit taken aback.

“Mommy was getting sick to her stomach,” Jennifer Calcott told her sons, Parker, 3, and Spencer 6, as they left the assembly.

Laura Juszczyk of Muscatine, who brought four of her five children to the program, said she felt sorry for Collins and Miksch, but applauded their commitment.

“They are wonderful to do this for the kids,” said Juszczyk

Lori Weikert of Muscatine said she and other moms in her neighborhood brought their children to meet Prosek, the new principal at Colorado Elementary, where their children attend school.

“This was a good way to introduce him to the children,” said Weikert.

Reporter contact information

Cynthia Beaudette 563-262-0527

cynthia.beaudette@muscatine