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Behind the Story: Will the Real D.W. Please Stand Up

By Matt Stringer

“I had my tattle-tale moments,” said Kim Brown, the inspiration behind D.W. on PBS’s Arthur.

On the TV show, D.W. is a bit of a snitch. Others may call her a brat. But, in Arthur, D.W. says she’s “assertive,” not “bossy.” That aspect of D.W.’s personality comes to life once again in a DVD released in November called D.W. Blows the Whistle. D.W. becomes a Junior Safety officer in one of the three episodes on the DVD.

Kim (a.k.a. the real D.W.) is the younger sister of Arthur creator Marc Brown. They grew up in Millcreek, PA near the shores of Lake Erie. Of course, it was interesting.

“Childhood with Marc was never dull,” Kim said and then elaborated about how Marc used to go all out for Halloween and make a really creepy costume. “Half the kids were afraid to come to get candy.”

Kim started off with a career in fashion. Then she worked in interior design. After that, she turned all her creative energy towards one of her passions: cooking; she became a gourmet caterer.

But now Kim is doing something entirely different and thrilling kids everywhere when she make appearances at schools, libraries and children’s museums across America, showing kids just what the real D.W. is like. When she makes the appearances, one of her favorite things to do is teach the kids how to draw Arthur in an eight-step formula. “Arthur and the gang are like rock stars,” Kim said.

Most of the characters in Arthur are based on real people, which is one of the things she tells the children she visits.

Francine, one of Arthur’s best friends, is based on Kim and Marc’s sister Bonnie. “She was a real tomboy when she was a kid. Now she’s a kindergarten teacher,” Kim says. Grandma Thora is based on Kim and Marc’s actual grandma by the same name. She would read them bedtime stories. Incidentally, that’s how Arthur was conceived.

Kim said one night Marc was telling his son Tolon a bedtime story. Tolon wanted to hear about a “weird animal.” Marc came up with a story about an aardvark who hated his nose.

“Tolon kept wanting to hear that story. He’d say ‘What’s his name going to be Dad’,” Kim said. The Aardvark in that story became Arthur—everyone’s favorite aardvark.

Recently she was in Atlanta making an appearance; not only for the kids but also for the media. “I was on Good Morning Atlanta. I definitely felt like a little movie star that week,” Kim said.

What she enjoys most though (other than spending time with her son Miles and her family) is speaking to kids about Arthur.

“I love being around children. Arthur’s message is being smart is cool and books are fun,” Kim says. “From all the feedback I get from the libraries, it works.”

Next year will mark 30 years since the first Arthur book was published, Arthur’s Nose. More than 100 Arthur and D.W titles have been published since then. This year marks the TV series’ 10 anniversary.

Matt Stringer is the editor of Curious Parents