D.W. Read

Dora Winifred Read, also known as D.W., is Arthur's younger sister from the hit Series: Arthur

Physical appearance

Like the rest of her family, D.W. is an anthropomorphic aardvark. She has short, light brown slightly curled/waved hair in the form of a bob cut, which is up to her cheeks; plus, she has bangs. She wears a white long-sleeved blouse, a frilly sleeveless knee-length magenta jumper dress, frilly cream-colored or white panties, light pink (in the TV show) or white (in the books and promotional images for the TV show) pantyhose and blue-and-cyan strapped Mary Jane shoes. In the earlier books, her Mary Jane shoes are black instead, and in the Living Books games, brown.

In the very first Arthur book, Arthur's Nose, D.W., along with Arthur and their parents, looked much more like a real aardvark, with a long snout, pointy ears, claws and a long tail. She also wore a checkered pink dress with short and puffy sleeves, and didn't have any legwear or footwear.

Alternate outfits

D.W. has many alternate outfits: Her footsie pajamas, pink frilly swimsuit, red polka dot dress (usually worn to formal occasions), her Arthur outfit, gymnastics suit, and much more. In some of the books, she wore pink overalls. In "D.W. Thinks Big," she wore a solid pink dress to Lucy's wedding. In "Double Tibble Trouble," she wore dark green overalls. In the summer, she either wears a light-brown jumper and a white short sleeved T-shirt, or shorts and a blue T-shirt, like in "D.W.'s Deer Friend" when she went camping and in "Best Enemies." She also wears her blue T-shirt with gray jeans. In the episode "D.W. All Fired Up," she wore an orange long-sleeved shirt under purple overalls, with light green pockets. In "D.W. Swims with the Fishes," she wore a one-piece ordinary pink swimsuit instead of her typical pink frilly swimsuit.

Pink stripes

In the books, her white blouse and pantyhose typically feature pink stripes not seen on the television show, likely due to the budget/time constraints of television animation. The pink stripes were also present in the CGI film "Arthur's Missing Pal." These are also often seen in promotional images, as well as most merchandise, such as stickers or plush toys.

Personality

Main personality

Despite her superficial appearance, D.W. is often annoying to Arthur and he often seems to dislike her (he considers her a pest and once warned Sue Ellen that her initials stand for "Disaster Warning", though D.W. would later adopt DisasterWarning99 as her username for Virtual Goose) and sometimes, she takes pleasure in getting him in trouble, but occasionally, she seems to show that she truly loves her brother and gladly works with Arthur whenever their family is in trouble.

Regardless of this, D.W. can often be downright cruel to her brother, such as insensitively telling him that his family can get get "a good dog" to replace Pal when he got sick in "Sick as a Dog," destroying a model plane he worked on for weeks and blaming him for building it wrong instead apologizing or showing remorse for it in "Arthur's Big Hit," or telling her dad that he should "Put [Arthur] on the street first" because she thinks he ruined her father's catering business in "Dad's Dessert Dilemma," and has no qualms about taking advantage of him for her own benefit, so it's unclear how genuine her love for her brother truly is in the end.

In the original books, D.W., while bratty and annoying, does not seem to exhibit any downright cruel behavior towards her brother like she does in the TV show. D.W. gets along well with most of her friends but often becomes very dramatic when things don't go her way and has a tendency of being very bossy. She is known for her many short-lived obsessions and temper tantrums, two of her longest-lived obsessions being Mary Moo Cow and the song "Crazy Bus", both of which annoy Arthur to no end. She also has an imaginary friend named Nadine, whom she plays with and confides her problems to when no one else is around.

She hates her full name and prefers to have everyone call her "D.W." instead. However, after learning the family history behind her name in "The Rhythm and Roots of Arthur," she comes around to liking it, and in "D.W. and the Beastly Birthday" it is implied in Arthur's futuristic dream that she eventually goes by her first name "Dora" as she grows older. She is a drama queen and also seems to be very protective of Kate. She is also somewhat egotistical, as she has a tendency to self-identify as "[Arthur's] cute/adorable little sister."

Being a preschooler, she often doesn't understand the definition of words and when she tries to use complex words for her age, such as "taxpaying" or "orphans", she accidentally turns them into words like "taxipaying" or "organs". She also doesn't grasp important topics like where babies come from, in which she thought that they come from a large baby store. She believed that teachers live at school and was rather stunned when Mr. Ratburn, temporarily staying at the Read household, told her that he has a home of his own. She expressed that the world seemed simple until then. Despite all this, she's been shown to be pretty smart for a kid her age, such as in "Arthur's Spelling Trubble" when she catches on that her mom is bribing her with ice cream to leave Arthur alone to study.

D.W. has cephalophobia (the fear of octopods and squids), and once endured a short-lived fear of fire drills (and anything else related to fire). She is a picky eater, and once, she had a profound hatred of spinach. She also does not like tomatoes and in preschool, they are allowed as her one thing she doesn't have to eat when offered. She once had a snowball from "D.W.'s Snow Mystery," which was stolen from the fridge (apparently by aliens) and she frequently blames Arthur for its disappearance, which is a running gag. She did this continually until Arthur tried to make her feel better by giving her what looked like her snowball, at which point D.W. admitted he couldn't have taken it from her.

While she is pretty smart for a kid her age, D.W. can also be rather gullible and fairly easy to fool:

She believes that anything she sees on TV that is enhanced to look good is good. This is suggested in "D.W. Goes to Washington," where Arthur brings up the story when they went to "Santa's Igloo", where you shared a sundae with "Santa" and you had to buy a sundae to share it with the guy in the Santa costume.
She is frequently tricked by the Tibble twins into doing silly things that get her in trouble; even though she has acknowledged many times that the Tibbles always lie.
Arthur and Buster were once able to fool D.W. into thinking that green potato chips were fatally poisonous (though she eventually discovered the truth).

She possesses a fondness for unicorns. She has a toy winged unicorn named Uni from the My Fluffy Unicorn franchise and once decorated her portion of the family Christmas tree with toy unicorns and troll dolls. She would like to one day have a real unicorn and has a display of troll dolls in her room which appears throughout the series despite the fad peaking in the 1990s. D.W., like many children her age, also has a fondness for plush toys in general. She wanted the toy Tina the Talking Tabby for Christmas, but ended up receiving Quackers the duck instead. She also owns a teddy bear and a plush rabbit, among other stuffed animals.

She is also known to host at least six episodes:

"D.W.'s Name Game"
"D.W. Tricks the Tooth Fairy"
"D.W.'s Time Trouble"
"The Secret About Secrets"
"In My Africa"
"Adventures in Budylon"
"So Long, Spanky"

And, despite being gullible, there are many episodes where she gets exactly what she wants at the end of the episode, usually by tricking people such as Arthur:

"The Long, Dull Winter"
"Misfortune Teller"
"D.W. Tricks the Tooth Fairy"
"D.W. the Copycat"
"Prove It"
"Arthur vs. the Very Mean Crossing Guard"
"My Club Rules"
"The Pageant Pickle"
"D.W. and Dr. Whosit"

There is some continuity with specific methods of this running gag. One example is the Bowling Ball that was used in an attempt to form the third grade only Parade Float Club which easily fell apart so she could take over. D.W. kept the Bowling Ball and placed it on her floor to keep Arthur from sneaking in after dark.

Being a small preschool child, as well as the middle child, she feels oppressed, and will stand up for herself as best she knows how. She often cites what she remembers about civil liberties when she wants to tell on Arthur or when Arthur gets something that she initially did not get to be a part of. ("Dad's Dessert Dilemma" and "The Chips are Down")

Past life

When D.W. was a baby, she originally had just clumps of hair, but in later seasons, she is depicted with a similar, but shorter, hairstyle. While D.W. was a baby; she was wearing a pink shirt, white disposable diapers, and pink socks. As such, she also had the same crib that had eventually become Kate's crib.

Future life

Not much is shown about her future life, though in "D.W.'s Time Trouble," she and Nadine looked older in one scene during D.W.'s dream where she wished that she was older than Arthur. A fantasy sequence in "D.W.'s Name Game" depicts an older version of her attending a concert of Arthur's and disrupting it by loudly eating potato chips. Her appearance is a taller version of her present self.

During Arthur's dream in "D.W. and the Beastly Birthday," D.W. is shown at age 9. She goes by Dora instead of D.W. ever since she turned 6. She wears a yellow sweater with a purple jacket, blue jeans and purple sneakers. "Dora" is written in Japanese across her sweater. She now wears orange framed glasses and a maroon headband. Her future look is reminiscent of the traditional Arthur outfit.

Other media

In the Living Books computer games, she has a brown complexion and orange hair in Arthur's Teacher Trouble and a pale complexion and dark brown hair in Arthur's Birthday, and she wears a purple shirt instead of a white one while wearing a jumper dress with white pantyhose or overalls. It was likely because of color and tone restrictions during the 16-bit era of computers and software. In these two games, she was voiced by Kelly Greenley, who has been one of only three women to voice D.W. in any form over the course of the Arthur franchise. The other two are Elizabeth Telefus and the late Mary Kay Bergman, who voiced D.W. in the later games during the 32-bit era of computers and software (such as Arthur's Thinking Games).

Over the course of the long-running TV series, D.W. has (so far) had eight different voice actors, all of whom have been boys:

Michael Caloz voiced her in the first three seasons.
Oliver Grainger voiced her in the 4th-6th seasons.
Jason Szwimmer voiced her in the 7th-10th seasons.
Robert Naylor voiced her in the 11th-15th seasons. Naylor is currently D.W.'s longest-serving voice actor, having voiced the character for a total of five seasons.
Jake Beale voiced her in the 16th and 17th seasons.
Andrew Dayton voiced her in the 18th and 19th seasons.
Christian Distefano voiced her in the 20th and 21st seasons.
Ethan Pugiotto has been D.W.'s voice actor since 2019, beginning with the 22nd season.

Relationships

Family

D.W. lives with her family which consists of her father (David Read), her mother (Jane Read), her older and only brother (Arthur Read), and her baby sister (Kate).

Arthur Read: Usually, Arthur and D.W. are seen fighting with each other, especially over their television time and when she annoys him, and Arthur often dislikes her because of her bratty behavior. Despite this, Arthur truly loves and cares for her; D.W. occasionally shows signs of caring for Arthur as well ("Grandma Thora Appreciation Day," "Grandpa Dave's Old Country Farm," "Clarissa is Cracked," "Just Desserts," "Dad's Dessert Dilemma," "Arthur's Mystery Envelope," "The Big Dig," "Arthur's Knee," "Mom and Dad Have a Great Big Fight," "Arthur's Family Feud," "Is There a Doctor in the House?"), but due to how mean-spirited and cruel D.W. often is towards him and how she has no problem taking advantage of him for selfish reasons, it's questionable whether it can be taken at face value. In the episode "Lost!," D.W. is very concerned over Arthur's wellbeing after she learned he was lost, and crawls in his bed at night to make sure he will not get lost again, although this could be considered out-of-character for her when compared to her usual behavior towards Arthur. A usual theme with Arthur and D.W., is that Arthur usually forgets to play with D.W. the games he promised her. It was noted that Arthur used to play with D.W. all the time until Arthur thought she liked "baby stuff." She is naturally better than Arthur in many activities such as fishing, storytelling, and coming up with a tune for music, which made him quite jealous of her for her talent at such a young age. In most of her brother's fantasies, D.W. is often cast as an antagonist. Arthur had once angrily punched her in the arm for breaking his model plane in "Arthur's Big Hit." Sometimes, D.W. casts Arthur as an antagonist in her fantasies, such as in the story she told to the Tibbles in "I'd Rather Read It Myself."
Kate Read: Baby Kate is D.W.'s younger sister who looks up to D.W. and does favors for her regularly with Pal, e.g. finding her lost sock. In the time she was born, D.W. was displeased when she had to share her room with Kate, and was planning various ways to get rid of her, or else she wants to move away. At one time, D.W. threatened to pinch Kate for taking away her toys and was sent to her room as a punishment for ten minutes. Despite her initial disfavor of Kate, D.W. has come to deeply love and care for her little sister, and takes an active interest in her development.
Pal: Arthur's dog Pal likes D.W., but D.W. regularly dislikes him and thinks he is dumb. However, she sometimes treats him nicely as they can be seen playing together in the theme song.
Spanky: Spanky was a pet parakeet that was briefly owned by D.W. She was deeply attached to him and held a funeral following his death in "So Long, Spanky."
David Read: D.W. has a great relationship with her father. David seems to favor D.W. more than Arthur; for example, in "Cast Away," he brings D.W. on a trip that is supposed to be for him and Arthur, and in "The Pageant Pickle," he takes Arthur to see D.W.'s play despite them both knowing that it will be boring.
Jane Read: D.W. has a good relationship with her mother, but it seems as though she is a bit more strict than her father. When D.W. misbehaves at a restaurant ("Arthur's Family Vacation" and "D.W., the Picky Eater"), is mean to Kate ("Go to Your Room, D.W."), or demands other people, especially her mom, to give her more allowance ("More!"), these can lead D.W. into trouble with her mom.
Theodore Read: D.W.'s great-grand uncle whom she is shown to get well along with in "The Rhythm and Roots of Arthur," playing horseshoe toss with him and beating him at it by a landslide. He is also the one who reveals to D.W. that she is named after her deceased great-grand aunt and that she had a lot in common with D.W.

Friends

D.W. has many preschool friends such as Emily, the Tibbles and James.

Emily: Emily is D.W.'s best friend, but D.W. is often trying to compete with her. Despite them being friends, D.W. has shown herself to be willing to ruin Emily's plans for her own benefit, such as in "D.W. on Ice" or "All About D.W.."
Tommy Tibble and Timmy Tibble: The Tibbles are D.W's friends, but they often try to compete with her and pester her. They are also known to lie to D.W., often misleading her into doing foolish things for their own amusement. D.W. often finds herself at odds with them, but they usually make up later. However, in "Prove It," D.W. shows that she is not above lying to them either, as she sells them and other kids her age several false scientific "facts" as part of her plan to force Arthur to take her to the Science Museum. In "Never, Never, Never," Tommy and Timmy aren't being very nice to D.W. after she gives them all her toys where they're just rough playing and destroying them, so she begs them to give her toys back but keep refusing to. In "Attack of the Turbo Tibbles," the Tibbles hit D.W. really hard in the face with the swing where she loudly cries at the top of her lungs so that their grandma is able to hear her after playing their space game too much, but after a while, they feel really sorry for her after what they did and had no idea that their space game was going too far. In "The Secret About Secrets," the Tibbles trick D.W. into thinking that they're actually calling their grandma pretending that their toy is a cellphone, but they make her fall down and scrape her arm after she tries telling them that there's no secret, but when she checks her arm, they ask her if she's okay.
James MacDonald: James is a friend of D.W.'s who is rather shy at times. D.W. tries to get him to kiss her in "Kiss and Tell," thinking she would become a princess. He eventually did kiss her, but not much came of it, other than D.W. being slightly shocked. In "D.W. Unties the Knot," D.W. chooses James to be her imaginary groom on a whim. James split his pants at school in "The Secret About Secrets" and is nervous telling D.W. about it but wants to trust her not to tell anyone about it. However, while D.W. didn't tell any of their classmates, she did betray his trust by telling her mother.
Vicita Molina: Vicita and D.W. are next-door neighbors and occasionally play together. They are able to relate to each other easily because Vicita is only half a year younger than D.W. They generally get along, and Vicita often looks up to D.W., but D.W. can occasionally be bossy and dislikes it when Vicita excels at games. In "Tales from the Crib," D.W. helps Vicita cope with moving out of her crib.
Binky Barnes: D.W. is friends with Arthur's classmate Binky. They become friends after D.W. eats a green potato chip and gets tricked by Arthur into thinking they are poisoned in "The Chips are Down," and they continue being friends in "Revenge of the Chip." She tells Binky this and they become friends after they decide to spend the last of their days together, only to learn later that their poisoning was nothing more than a prank. They remain friends and they have even done ballet together in "D.W., Dancing Queen," and have remained on good terms since. In "Arthur's Big Hit," Binky is in complete shock after hearing that Arthur hit her. In "Big Brother Binky," she gives Binky a unicorn for his recently adopted baby sister's Bai Jia Bei.
Nadine Flumberghast: D.W.'s imaginary friend. They talk to each other a lot and go on adventures with each other.
Francine Frensky: D.W. takes Francine's side in "Locked in the Library!" and gets invited to Francine's party after Lisa doesn't invite her in "D.W.'s Very Bad Mood." In "Arthur's Big Hit," Francine feels sorry for D.W. after Arthur punches her in the arm.
Bud Compson: D.W. has been friends with Bud since the Compson family moved in to Elwood City from Louisiana in "Based on a True Story." The two often spend time together, such as plotting to try to find a way to ride a rollercoaster together that they are told they're not tall enough to ride in "D.W. & Bud's Higher Purpose." In "The Lost Dinosaur," D.W. gives Bud advice on where to find Rapty. Despite their friendship, however, D.W. was initially willing to have Bud take the blame for her accidentally breaking her father's old toy frog in "The Tattletale Frog," although she eventually felt bad about it and confessed her guilt. D.W. has always been friends with Bud for a long time until he had to move again to Oregon in "When Duty Calls," and D.W. is very upset. To assure D.W. sends him lots of letters, he leaves Rapty with her. In "The Rhythm and Roots of Arthur," D.W. says that she thinks of Bud as family.
Muffy Crosswire: D.W. and Muffy don't really interact, but when D.W. climbs the tree in "D.W. Blows the Whistle," Muffy finds help getting her down. In "D.W. Unties the Knot," Muffy helps D.W. plan her wedding even though she lies to her saying it's someone she made up's wedding. In " The Friend Who Wasn't There," Muffy walks up to D.W. and asks her who she's talking to, which is her imaginary friend Nadine. Muffy considers D.W. as a replacement for Francine in "Muffy's New Best Friend," but they do argue over the Mutant Muck Monster and act bossy to each other. D.W. tries to bargain with Muffy of how much money she wants from her in order to get it in "Arthur's Toy Trouble." Muffy calls D.W. "an adorable little girl" and also tells her that she's doing great and that she can wear whatever she wants during George's movie in "The Director's Cut." In "The Great MacGrady," D.W., Muffy, and Arthur all work together in helping Mrs. MacGrady get well cleaning her house up a little since she's sick. D.W. Bantam and Mary Alice Miller who are actually D.W. and Muffy live together, because D.W. is the mother and Muffy is the daughter where she gets bossy with her in "Fountain Abbey."
Sue Ellen Armstrong: D.W. and Sue Ellen do not interact much, but they do get along in "Sue Ellen Gets Her Goose Cooked." In "The Shore Thing," Sue Ellen explains what kelp is to D.W. when she gets her leg caught in some and helps her calm down. They also try to get along with each other in "Sue Ellen's Little Sister," but D.W. gets kind of bossy with Sue Ellen while she's babysitting. In "Sue Ellen Moves In," during an alien invasion imagination sequence by Buster, a flying saucer lands on a farm with three aliens disguised as Sue Ellen, 3rd Grade Male Rat, and D.W. exiting the flying saucer on an escalator laughing crazily, which kind of looks like D.W. and Sue Ellen bonding a little.
Cheikh: D.W. and Cheikh are good friends. D.W. meets Cheikh when he moves from Africa to Elwood City in the episode "In My Africa." D.W continues her friendship with Cheikh because he moves to Elwood City and becomes a citizen in "Citizen Cheikh."
Alan Powers: D.W. and Brain don't interact often, but they're still good friends. Brain reads her a story in "The Perfect Brother," and she is shown to enjoy his company much more than she does Arthur's. They sing "In My Africa" in the episode of the same name together.
Ladonna Compson: D.W. and Ladonna aren't really each other's type, except when D.W. accidentally loses Larry in "Bunny Trouble" and Ladonna helps her look for him. D.W. offers Ladonna one of her mom's sweaters after she takes off her Halloween spider costume. She also blends in with D.W. and Bud on the Halloween pranks in "Arthur and the Haunted Tree House." They first met in "Based on a True Story" when both her and Bud first moved to Elwood City. D.W. is actually friends with Ladonna's brother Bud, but both D.W. and Ladonna are good friends too, until the end comes when she moves again to Oregon in "When Duty Calls."
W.D. Merkle: D.W. and W.D. are good friends. They attempt to trick their parents into going home and think they do not like each other in "Best Enemies," only to become friends in the process. They both don't like to be called by their full name.
Buster Baxter: D.W. and Buster don't have much in common, but Buster asks D.W. a few questions in "Arthur Accused!," D.W. sometimes mispronounces Buster's name as "Bus Stop", and he calls her "P.W." in "Buster's Back." he's also nice to her in "D.W., the Picky Eater" by letting her have a peanut butter and jam sandwich, even though he was in on tricking her about it not having spinach (which she hates) in it, making her throw up. Arthur and Buster trick D.W. into thinking the green chip she ate is poison in "The Chips are Down." In "The Rhythm and Roots of Arthur," Buster joins D.W. and Arthur on their vacation visiting family in Ohio. D.W. and Buster also sleep in the same room and she gets bossy with him, making up a dramatic password on her side and forcing him to look around the bedroom for lizards which she's scared of.

D.W. books

In addition to the Arthur Adventure titles, D.W. has appeared in a number of titles in her own series, including:

Arthur and the School Pet
D.W., the Picky Eater
D.W. Thinks Big
D.W. Flips!
D.W. Rides Again!
D.W., Go to Your Room! (D.W. In Trouble)
D.W.'s Lost Blankie
D.W.'s Library Card
D.W.'s Guide to Perfect Manners (D.W. Says Please and Thank You)
D.W.'s Guide to Preschool (D.W. Goes to Preschool)
Glasses for D.W.
Good Night, D.W.
D.W. The Big Boss
D.W.'s Perfect Present

Many of these titles were adapted for the television series, while some were initially aired as television stories and later adapted as books.

Disguises and aliases

The Mysterious Hand ("Arthur's Lost Library Book")
Mrs. Ida B. Forkenstern ("The Half-Baked Sale")
The Phantom of the Store ("D.W. Gets Lost")
Dim Whit ("D.W.'s Name Game")
O-D.W.-eus ("D.W. Tale Spins")
DisasterWarning99 ("Sue Ellen Gets Her Goose Cooked")
Deeangeleenora "Dee" Woo ("D.W. Unties the Knot")
Otis ("Buster's Breathless")
Hiccup Girl ("Hic or Treat")
Nora ("Kiss and Tell")

Possessions

Acorn Collection
Blankie
Bowling Ball
Button Collection
Clarissa
Confuse the Goose
"Crazy Bus"
Martha Mealy Worm
Mary Moo Cow doll
Pick-Up-Ticks
Pinkie
Plush rabbit
Princess Sneeze-and-Wet
Quackers
Rocks in a Box
Sharky
Snowball
Teddy bear
Tower of Cows
Virtual Goose
Weasel Rally
Spanky

Appearances

Specials
- "Arthur's Perfect Christmas"
- "Arthur - It's Only Rock 'n' Roll"
- "D.W. and the Beastly Birthday"
- "Arthur and the Haunted Tree House"
- "The Rhythm and Roots of Arthur"
- "Arthur's Missing Pal"
- "Arthur's New Friend"
- "An Arthur Thanksgiving"
Season 1
- "Arthur's Eyes" 10101
- "Arthur's Spelling Trubble" 10202
- "D.W. All Wet" 10301
- "Buster's Dino Dilemma" 10302
- "D.W.'s Imaginary Friend" 10401
- "Arthur's Lost Library Book" 10402
- "Arthur's Pet Business" 10501
- "D.W. the Copycat" 10502
- "Locked in the Library!" 10601
- "Arthur Accused!" 10602
- "Arthur Goes to Camp" 10701
- "Arthur's New Puppy" 10801
- "Arthur Bounces Back" 10802
- "Arthur Babysits" 10901
- "Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe" 10902
- "Arthur's Birthday" 11001
- "Arthur's Baby" 11101
- "D.W.'s Baby" 11102
- "Arthur Writes a Story" 11201
- "Arthur's Lost Dog" 11202
- "So Long, Spanky" 11301
- "Buster's New Friend" 11302
- "Arthur the Wrecker" 11401
- "Arthur's Family Vacation" 11501
- "Grandpa Dave's Old Country Farm" 11502
- "Arthur and the Crunch Cereal Contest" 11601
- "D.W. Flips" 11602
- "Arthur's Chicken Pox" 11801
- "Sick as a Dog" 11802
- "D.W. Rides Again" 11901
- "Arthur Makes the Team" 11902
- "Arthur's Almost Boring Day" 12001
- "The Half-Baked Sale" 12002
- "Sue Ellen Moves In" (alien disguise cameo) 12101
- "The Perfect Brother" 12102
- "D.W.'s Snow Mystery" 12201
- "Bully for Binky" (cameo) 12301
- "Misfortune Teller" 12302
- "Arthur's Tooth" 12401
- "D.W. Gets Lost" 12402
- "D.W. Thinks Big" 12501
- "Arthur Cleans Up" (cameo) 12502
- "Poor Muffy" 12602
- "D.W.'s Blankie" 12701
- "I'm a Poet" 12801
- "The Scare-Your-Pants-Off Club" 12802
- "My Club Rules" 12901
- "Arthur's First Sleepover" 13001
- "Arthur's New Year's Eve" 13002
Season 2
- "Arthur Meets Mister Rogers" 20101
- "Arthur's Lucky Pencil" 20202
- "D.W., the Picky Eater" 20301
- "Buster and the Daredevils" 20302
- "Arthur Makes a Movie" 20401
- "Go to Your Room, D.W." 20402
- "Arthur's Underwear" 20501
- "Francine Frensky, Olympic Rider" 20502
- "Buster Baxter, Cat Saver" 20601
- "Play it Again, D.W." 20602
- "Arthur's TV-Free Week" 20701
- "Night Fright" (mentioned) 20702
- "Arthur vs. the Piano" 20801
- "The Big Blow-Up" 20802
- "Lost!" 20901
- "The Short, Quick Summer" 20902
- "D.W. Goes to Washington" 21001
- "Arthur's Mystery Envelope" 21002
- "D.W.'s Deer Friend" 21101
- "Arthur's Faraway Friend" 21201
- "Water and the Brain" 21301
- "Arthur the Unfunny" 21302
- "Sue Ellen's Lost Diary" 21401
- "Arthur's Knee" 21402
- "Grandma Thora Appreciation Day" 21501
- "D.W. Blows the Whistle" 21602
- "Francine Redecorates" 21701
- "Arthur the Loser" 21702
- "Arthur vs. the Very Mean Crossing Guard" 21801
- "D.W.'s Very Bad Mood" 21802
- "D.W.'s Name Game" 21901
- "Finders Key-pers" 21902
- "How the Cookie Crumbles" 22001
- "Sue Ellen's Little Sister" 22002
Season 3
- "Buster's Back" 30101
- "D.W. All Fired Up" 30201
- "I'd Rather Read It Myself" 30202
- "Arthur Goes Crosswire" 30301
- "Background Blues" (3W, title card) 30401
- "And Now Let's Talk to Some Kids" 30402
- "The Chips are Down" 30501
- "Revenge of the Chip" 30502
- "Meet Binky" 30602
- "Dad's Dessert Dilemma" 30702
- "Buster's Growing Grudge" 30802
- "Arthur's Treasure Hunt" 30901
- "Attack of the Turbo Tibbles" 31001
- "D.W. Tricks the Tooth Fairy" 31002
- "Double Tibble Trouble" 31101
- "Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival" 31102
- "What Scared Sue Ellen?" 31201
- "Clarissa is Cracked" 31202
- "Arthur's Dummy Disaster" 31301
- "Francine and the Feline" 31302
- "Mom and Dad Have a Great Big Fight" 31401
- "D.W.'s Perfect Wish" 31402
- "Arthur and D.W. Clean Up" 31501
- "The Long, Dull Winter" 31502
Season 4
- "D.W.'s Library Card" 40101
- "Arthur's Big Hit" 40102
- "Hide and Snake" 40201
- "Muffy's New Best Friend" 40202
- "Buster's Breathless" 40301
- "The Contest" 40401
- "Prove It" 40402
- "The Blizzard" 40501
- "The Rat Who Came to Dinner" 40502
- "D.W. Tale Spins" 40601
- "To Beat or Not to Beat" 40702
- "1001 Dads" 40801
- "Prunella's Prediction" 40802
- "What is that Thing?" 40901
- "Buster's Best Behavior" 40902
- "My Music Rules" 41001
- "That's a Baby Show!" 41002
Season 5
- "Arthur and the Big Riddle" 50101
- "Double Dare" 50102
- "Kids are from Earth, Parents are from Pluto" (cameo) 50201
- "Nerves of Steal" 50202
- "It's a No-Brainer" 50301
- "The Shore Thing" 50302
- "The World Record" 50401
- "The Cave" 50402
- "The Lousy Week" 50501
- "You Are Arthur" 50502
- "The Election" 50601
- "Francine Goes to War" (mentioned) 50602
- "Sleep No More" (cameo) 50701
- "Pet Peeved" 50702
- "The Last of Mary Moo Cow" 50801
- "Just Desserts" 50901
- "The Big Dig" 50902
- "Arthur's Family Feud" 51001
Season 6
- "Sue Ellen Gets Her Goose Cooked" 60101
- "Best of the Nest" 60102
- "Arthur Plays the Blues" 60201
- "The Secret Life of Dogs and Babies" 60302
- "The Boy Who Cried Comet" 60501
- "Arthur and Los Vecinos" 60502
- "Citizen Frensky" 60601
- "D.W.'s Backpack Mishap" 60602
- "More!" 60702
- "Rhyme for Your Life" 60801
- "For Whom the Bell Tolls" 60802
- "The Good Sport" 60901
- "Crushed" 60902
- "Arthur Loses His Marbles" 61001
Season 7
- "Cast Away" 70101
- "The Great Sock Mystery" 70102
- "Ants in Arthur's Pants" 70301
- "To Tibble the Truth" 70401
- "Elwood City Turns 100!" 70500
- "Pick a Car, Any Car" 70601
- "D.W.'s Time Trouble" 70701
- "Buster's Amish Mismatch" (cameo) 70702
- "Is There a Doctor in the House?" 70802
- "Return of the Snowball" 70902
- "April 9th" 71000
Season 8
- "Dear Adil" 80101
- "Arthur's Snow Biz" 80301
- "Bugged" 80302
- "Fernkenstein's Monster" 80401
- "D.W., Dancing Queen" 80402
- "Sue Ellen Chickens Out" 80502
- "Postcards from Buster" 80600
- "Desk Wars" (title card) 80701
- "Desperately Seeking Stanley" 80702
- "Tales from the Crib" 80802
- "Kiss and Tell" 80902
- "Bleep" 81002
Season 9
- "Castles in the Sky" 90101
- "Tipping the Scales" (title card) 90102
- "Francine's Big Top Trouble" 90201
- "George Blows His Top" 90202
- "Arthur Weighs In" 90301
- "Buster's Green Thumb" 90401
- "My Fair Tommy" 90402
- "Lights, Camera... Opera!" 90501
- "All Worked Up" 90502
- "Arthur Makes Waves" 90601
- "It Came From Beyond" 90602
- "Three's a Crowd" 90701
- "A is for Angry" 90702
- "The "A" Team" (title card) 90801
- "Emily Swallows a Horse" 90802
- "D.W. Beats All" 90901
Season 10
- "Happy Anniversary" 100100
- "The Squirrels" 100201
- "Fern and Persimmony Glitchet" 100202
- "Desert Island Dish" (cameo) 100301
- "The Secret About Secrets" 100302
- "Feeling Flush" 100401
- "Family Fortune" 100402
- "D.W. Aims High" 100501
- "Flaw and Order" 100502
- "Arthur Changes Gears" 100602
- "Unfinished" (mentioned) 100701
- "D.W., Bossy Boots" 100702
- "Binky vs. Binky" (cameo) 100801
- "Operation: D.W.!" 100802
- "Do You Speak George?" 100901
- "World Girls" (cameo) 100902
- "What's Cooking?" 101001
- "Buster's Special Delivery" 101002
Season 11
- "Swept Away" 110101
- "Arthur Sells Out" 110201
- "Mind Your Manners" 110202
- "Buenas Noches, Vicita" 110301
- "Baby Kate and the Imaginary Mystery" 110501
- "The Making of Arthur" 110601
- "Dancing Fools" 110602
- "Hic or Treat" 110701
- "Buster Gets Real" 110802
- "D.W. on Ice" 110901
- "Big Brother Binky" 111000
Season 12
- "Never, Never, Never" 120102
- "Room to Ride" (cameo) 120201
- "The Frensky Family Fiasco" (opening) 120202
- "D.W.'s Stray Netkitten" 120301
- "Bats in the Belfry" 120302
- "Ungifted" 120402
- "War of the Worms" (cameo) 120701
- "I Owe You One" (cameo) 120702
- "The Blackout" 120801
- "Mei Lin Takes a Stand" 120802
- "Do You Believe in Magic?" 120902
- "The Perfect Game" (cameo) 121001
- "D.W.'s Furry Freak-out" 121002
Season 13
- "The Great MacGrady" 130100
- "Kung Fool" 130202
- "Arthur's Number Nightmare" 130301
- "The Good, the Bad, and the Binky" 130402
- "No Acting, Please" 130501
- "D.W. Swims with the Fishes" 130602
- "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Tibble" 130701
- "The Secret Guardians" (opening) 130702
- "Prunella and the Haunted Locker" (opening) 130802
- "Paradise Lost" 130901
- "Looking for Bonnie" (fantasy) 130101
- "The Secret Origin of Supernova" 130102
Season 14
- "The Agent of Change" (cameo) 140201
- "D.W. Unties the Knot" 140202
- "Falafelosophy" 140401
- "The Great Lint Rush" 140402
- "Pet Projects" (cameo) 140502
- "Buster Baxter & the Letter from the Sea" 140602
- "Around the World in 11 Minutes" (cameo) 140701
- "Muffy and the Big Bad Blog" (cameo) 140702
- "Arthur Unravels" 140801
- "All the Rage" (title card) 140802
- "D.W., Queen of the Comeback" 140901
- "In My Africa" 140902
Season 15
- "Fifteen" (mentioned) 150100
- "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" (opening) 150201
- "Whistling in the Wind" 150202
- "The Last King of Lambland" 150302
- "Cents-less" (cameo) 150401
- "S.W.E.A.T." 150502
- "Grandpa Dave's Memory Album" 150601
- "What's in a Name?" (fantasy) 150702
- "Best Enemies" 150802
- "Through the Looking Glasses" 150902
- "The Butler Did... What?" 151001
- "The Trouble with Trophies" 151002
Season 16
- "Based on a True Story" 160100
- "Flippity Francine" (cameo) 160201
- "Muffy Takes the Wheel" (cameo) 160202
- "All About D.W." 160301
- "Blockheads" 160302
- "Baby Steps" 160402
- "Night of the Tibble" 160501
- "Read and Flumberghast" 160502
- "The Last Tough Customer" 160601
- "Brain's Chess Mess" 160602
- "The Best Day Ever" 161002
Season 17
- "Show Off" 170101
- "Adventures in Budylon" 170201
- "Molina's Mulligan" (cameo) 170301
- "Opposites Distract" 170401
- "Just the Ticket" 170402
- "All Thumbs" 170501
- "Kidonia" 17050
- "Speak Up, Francine!" (cameo) 17601
- "Waiting for Snow" 170602
- "Pets and Pests" 170701
- "Go Fly a Kite" (opening) 170702
- "The Director's Cut" 170801
- "Crime and Consequences" (cameo) 170802
- "Framed!" 170902
Season 18
- "The Tattletale Frog" 180101
- "D.W. & Bud's Higher Purpose" 180102
- "The Friend Who Wasn't There" 180201
- "Surprise!" 180202
- "The Substitute Arthur" 180302
- "Best Wishes" (cameo) 180401
- "Fountain Abbey" 180501
- "Arthur Calls It" 180502
- "Whip. Mix. Blend." (cameo) 180601
- "Staycation" 180602
- "Two Minutes" 180701
- "Messy Dress Mess" (opening) 180702
- "Arthur Read: Super Saver" 180801
- "Tibbles to the Rescue" 180802
- "The Pageant Pickle" 180901
- "Some Assembly Required" 180902
- "Shelter from the Storm" 181000
Season 19
- "Brain's Brain" 190101
- "Arthur's Toy Trouble" 190301
- "One Ornery Critter" 190502
- "Carl's Concerto" 190701
- "Too Much of a Good Thing" 190702
- "Francine's Cleats of Strength" (cameo) 19801
- "The Last Day" 191000
Season 20
- "Buster's Second Chance" 200101
- "Arthur and the Whole Truth" 200102
- "Fern's Flights of Fancy" (cameo) 200201
- "Cereal" 200202
- "He Said, He Said" 200301
- "Bunny Trouble" 200302
- "Bud's Knotty Problem" 200401
- "That's MY Grandma!" 200402
- "Prunella's Tent of Portent" 200601
Season 21
- "Francine & the Soccer Spy" (cameo) 210301
- "Sue Ellen & the Last Page" 210302
- "The Lost Dinosaur" 210601
- "The Princess Problem" 210602
- "Invasion of the Soccer Fans" 210701
- "Pal and the Big Itch" 210702
Season 22
- "The Feud" 22102
- "The Longest Eleven Minutes" 22202
- "Muffy's House Guests" (cameo) 22301
- "Muffy's Car Campaign" (cameo) 22401
Season 23
- "Fright Night" 23101
- "Citizen Cheikh" 23102
- "The Pea and the Princess" (cameo) 23201
- "D.W. and Dr. Whosit" 23202
- "When Duty Calls" 23301

Postcards from Buster

Season 1
- "Moose on the Loose" 11001
- "A Sense of Direction"
- "We Are Family"
- "Family Reunion"

Trivia

She is modelled after author Marc Brown's younger sisters, Bonnie, Colleen, and especially Kim Brown. Due to this, Brown has called her "triply lethal" and also hoped that kids watching the show wouldn't imitate her trick of dressing like her sibling and copying all his actions in "D.W. the Copycat."
D.W. is unable to read and claims to not know the time even though she knows when Mary Moo Cow comes on TV and whenever New Year's starts, but it's possible she's gained a built-in clock to these skills or she's reminded. She has also been shown in some episodes to be able to read a little bit, such as the "Moo" in Mary Moo Cow, and in the book release Arthur's Reading Trick, she is able to read the book Green Eggs and Ham.
She can only write her own name.
It is clearly known that D.W hates Bionic Bunny, but in the episodes "D.W. the Copycat" and "Arthur and the Crunch Cereal Contest," D.W. is watching and laughing. Though, in the former, she was most likely faking interest in the show as she was acting like Arthur in the episode. In the book Arthur's Promise, D.W. wears a Bionic Bunny costume and joins Arthur's Bionic Bunny Fan Club, though this possibly had more to do with wanting to spend time with her brother and his friends rather than an actual interest in Bionic Bunny.
In "Clarissa is Cracked," it is revealed that she closely resembles Grandma Thora as a young girl.
In the episode, "Postcards from Buster," it is revealed that she used to have an imaginary friend who was a winged pig named Snooter.
When Arthur says that D.W. doesn't like anything in "D.W., the Picky Eater," D.W. defiantly states that she likes: peanut butter and jelly, strawberries, chocolate (without nuts), birthday cakes, and chocolate ice cream.
- D.W. also likes spinach (or at least claims to after unwittingly eating it in a pot pie), and yaprak dolmasi, a Turkish dish.
- D.W. also ate without complaint both the turkey dinner served by Mr. Read in "Arthur's Perfect Christmas," as well as the "truly traditional" Christmas dinner that included such dishes as halva, puls, unleavened bread and roast lamb with turmeric.
- In "That's MY Grandma!," she is delighted by Grandma Thora's kale cauliflower tart.
She knows how to whistle, as seen in "So Long, Spanky" and "Postcards from Buster"
She has the first speaking role in the Arthur series: the line "come with me" in "Arthur's Eyes."
According to the lyrics of her performance of "The First Noel," she cannot count any higher than four. However, in "D.W. Aims High," she says that she can count to ten, and in "You Are Arthur" and "Arthur Weighs In," it is implied she can count up to twenty. In the book D.W.'s Guide to Preschool, she states that she can count to seven.
Michael Caloz is D.W.'s voice actor in the opening theme song.
D.W. is named after Theodore's deceased sister and her great-grand-aunt Dora Winifred Read, as revealed in "The Rhythm and Roots of Arthur."
A default pose D.W. often takes is to have her her hands folded behind her back, which is also is one of the poses included on her pose modelsheet.

References

↑ "What does D.W. have to be upset about? She's only 4 years old!" — Arthur to Francine, "D.W.'s Very Bad Mood"
↑ "I'm almost four and a half. I can take care of myself." — D.W. to Jane, "D.W. All Fired Up"
↑ "I'm only 4, and I can already count to ten." — D.W. to Arthur and David, "D.W. Aims High"
↑ "I can't believe it takes a 4-year-old girl to suggest picking straws." — D.W. to Arthur and his friends, "Just the Ticket"
↑ ^{Jump up to:5.0} ^5.1 http://pbskids.org/arthur/print/tradingcards/cards.html#pg-dw2
↑ "You know, turning five is a very big step." — Emily to D.W., "D.W.'s Perfect Wish"
↑ ""5 year old Dora Winifred Read eagerly gobbled up a green chip one afternoon, only to be informed by her practical joker brother, Arthur, that green chips were deadly." — Arthur Read reading the newspaper, "Revenge of the Chip"
↑ http://www.pbs.org/parents/arthur/help/answers/faq_friends.html (archived page)
↑ "Your birthday isn't for six months!" — Arthur to D.W., "Arthur's Birthday."
↑ "D.W.'s Perfect Wish"
↑ See File:D.W.'s Guide to Preschool 3.JPG, for example.
↑ "More!"
↑ "D.W.'s Time Trouble"
↑ "The Rat Who Came to Dinner"
↑ "D.W. All Wet"
↑ "D.W., All Fired Up"
↑ "D.W., the Picky Eater"
↑ D.W.'s Guide to Preschool
↑ "D.W. Unties the Knot"
↑ "Never, Never, Never"
↑ ^{Jump up to:21.0} ^21.1 "The Chips are Down"
↑ "D.W. Tricks the Tooth Fairy"
↑ ^{Jump up to:23.0} ^23.1 "Arthur's Perfect Christmas"
↑ "Staycation"
↑ D.W. The Big Boss
↑ "Arthur's Family Feud"
↑ "Cast Away"
↑ "D.W. Tale Spins"
↑ "Arthur and the Crunch Cereal Contest"
↑ "The Great Sock Mystery"
↑ "Go to Your Room, D.W."
↑ "Baby Steps"
↑ "Arthur's Lost Dog"
↑ "Arthur and Los Vecinos"
↑ https://www.wgbh.org/programs/2019/12/27/marc-brown-arthur-and-the-real-mr-ratburn-the-rewind
↑ https://www.mccookgazette.com/story/1130520.html
↑ https://youtu.be/2DqnnmpDu8c?t=1084
↑ "D.W.'s Library Card"
↑ D.W. Modelsheet.JPG - second model from the top left.

Gallery

Main article: D.W. Read/Gallery

Spouse:

Tommy Pickles (husband)

Children:

Dil Pickles (son)
Kate Read (daughter)
Tyler (young son)