Ladonna Compson

Ladonna Compson is a girl from Louisiana who moved to Elwood City. She is currently a third grader in Mr. Ratburn's class. She tells many interesting stories about her family.

Life in Louisiana
Before Ladonna came to Elwood City, she lived in Louisiana. She states that she "once caught a crab as big as a pizza". At her old school, she took a public speaking class and was pretty good at it. Once while playing pin the tail on the donkey at her neighbors' house, she walked blindfolded out the front door and pinned the tail on a real donkey owned by her neighbors. Luckily for her, it was not a real pin. Due to a tuna sandwich in her pocket (which she had forgotten about, since her jacket smelled funny anyway), she once found a cat that had been lost for seven weeks.

Elwood City
Ladonna and her family drove for 16 hours on their move to Elwood City. She met Arthur and D.W. when they visited her new house, which is four houses down the block from theirs. She quickly became friends with her classmates due to her storytelling ability, and everyone wanted to hang out with her. Eventually, she ran out of stories to tell, and was caught when she made up one. After showing Arthur the details of a recent true story, she was able to regain her friends' trust.

Ladonna helped Bud and D.W. understand the court system through a comic she was reading: Habeas Canine: Legal Beagle. She later served in the jury at the court trial of Compson vs. Tibble.

She later visited the Sugar Bowl and watched the school's annual Arithmattack competition.

When Fern couldn't think of any new ideas for Muffy's Fiction Forum, Ladonna told her stories about her Aunt Mable and Uncle Silas. Fern copied the plots and changed the names, upsetting Ladonna. In response, Ladonna wrote a story about "Ferg" stealing "Ladella's" stories, which made Fern realize her wrongdoing. The two have since made up.

Muffy invited Ladonna to her house for a potluck when Francine was attempting to be a vegetarian. While she did not technically bring meat, per Muffy's orders, Ladonna did bring a dish of collard greens which had been simmered in duck fat for 3 hours. She left in a hurry to "finish a book report".

She attended The Wiegel-Bandolik Dog Show with her mother.

She and Arthur teamed up to make a shoebox diorama based on the expeditions of Annie Smith Peck. Ladonna convinced Bud and D.W. to explore the Reads' backyard so the two could leave their older siblings alone to work on the project, but her plan backfired when D.W. and Bud decided to camp overnight in the backyard. Due to becoming hooked on a TV show, Ladonna accidentally left Bud and D.W. unattended for most of the evening. Fortunately, they were still safe and sound when she and Arthur checked on them.

In the fall, Ladonna planned to make a gourd person, pick apples, bake a pie, and rake leaves, all on the same day. Unfortunately, she had planned too many things at once and messed up most of her goals. The following day, she decided to ignore any previously-scheduled events so she could take a walk with Arthur.

Around Earth Day, she helped train Francine to give a public speech. Eventually, she instead agreed to read Francine's speech for her. However, the papers were lost and Ladonna had not memorized the speech herself, so Francine presented her speech after all.

Near the end of winter, Ladonna bought skis and a sled in anticipation of a blizzard and lots of snow. However, there was not enough snow to cover the ground. Arthur and Buster tried to cheer her up with fake snow made of soap bubbles, but she saw through the trick right away. Though she appreciated the effort, it just was not the same. She checked the weather on the internet and found it to be sunny for the next week. At long last, there was plenty of snow one day. Ladonna skied, sledded, and made snow angels.

When the Read family was dealing with a wild mouse loose in their house, Ladonna visited to show Arthur her pet albino rat, General Higgins. Seeing the general made D.W. change her mind about rodents.

When she, Muffy, and Binky found a kite in the park, they took turns using it.

Ladonna and Bud went with Arthur, D.W., and Mr. Read to Wonder World to ride the new roller coaster, The Buzzard.

In January, Binky swiped Ladonna's pudding and gave it to George. She did not seem to notice it was gone.

Ladonna had a solo in a school play, singing "Alice Blue Gown". She borrowed a fancy dress from Muffy for the musical, but stained it with paint before she could use it. She wore a hand-me-down dress from home instead.

Physical appearance
Ladonna Compson is a rabbit with a tan complexion and brownish-red hair. She wears an olive green shirt, long blue jeans, and white sneakers. She is one of the taller of her classmates.

Alternate apparel
For the winter, she wears an orange winter jacket with black buttons and white lining and has a purple lined green, yellow and purple snow hat with a pair of purple and green snow gloves and a pair of black boots with white buckles.

Also, she wears light purple pajamas to bed.

When she imagined herself making a Gourd Person, Ladonna wore a white lab coat and safety goggles over her normal clothes.

Personality
Ladonna is very outgoing and adventurous, and she loves to tell stories. She likes to take walks and explore Elwood City, although she's only been there for a short amount of time. However, she sometimes lacks confidence and doesn't think she's exciting or interesting, which caused her to lie about some parts of her life in Louisiana. She loves exploring in the woods. Sometimes when she becomes overexcited, she makes a high-pitched screech.

Favorite foods
She loves cake; her favorite is king cake. She eats so much that her father sometimes calls her a "garbage disposal with legs". She can't stand beets, however; even the sight of beets upsets her stomach.

Friends
Ladonna gets along with most of the kids at Lakewood Elementary, even the Tough Customers, but many of her friends ignore her after she lies about her life like the bear story. However, Arthur managed to get them to accept her.

Character development
On September 4, 2012, a silhouette of Ladonna, seen from behind, was posted on Facebook. Another picture, this time showing Ladonna from the front and giving details such as her name, was posted on September 10, 2012. Her debut episode, "Based on a True Story", premiered on October 15, 2012, on PBS Kids.

According to Peter K. Hirsch, Ladonna was created because the team wanted to introduce a new character. Hirsch named Ladonna after a girl he met in South Carolina who always beat him at arm wrestling.

Appearances
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Arthur

 * 1601. Based on a True Story (debut)
 * 1605b. Read and Flumberghast
 * 1608a. Buster's Book Battle (cameo)
 * 1607b. Brain's Biggest Blunder (cameo)
 * 1609a. Fern and the Case of the Stolen Story
 * 1609b. Sue Ellen Vegges Out
 * 1610a. So Funny I Forgot to Laugh (cameo)
 * 1701a. Show Off (cameo)
 * 1702a. Adventures in Budylon
 * 1702b. Ladonna Compson: Party Animal
 * 1705a. All Thumbs (cameo)
 * 1706a. Speak Up, Francine!
 * 1706b. Waiting for Snow
 * 1707a. Pets and Pests
 * 1707b. Go Fly a Kite
 * 1801b. D.W. & Bud's Higher Purpose
 * 1803b. The Substitute Arthur (cameo)
 * 1804a. Best Wishes (cameo)
 * 1807b. Messy Dress Mess
 * 1809a. The Pageant Pickle (cameo)

Online activities

 * Arthur Comics: So Funny I Forgot to Laugh! (cameo)
 * D.W. & Bud's Backyard Adventure (non-playable)

Games
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 * Arthur's Big App

Trivia

 * Her original home was a "16 hour drive" from Elwood City. This may be a reference to her first appearing in the premiere of the show's sixteenth season.
 * Ladonna is one of few non- characters from a real-world place.