David Read

David L. Read is the father of Arthur, D.W., and Kate, and the son of Thora Read. He is married to Jane Read. He is a chef who runs a catering business from home.

Physical appearance
In short, he looks like an older version of his son Arthur, just without the glasses. His usual outfit is a white top with blue borders with corduroy pants with brown loafers. He was originally bald-headed in the earlier books but was later given clumps of hair that were brown in the books, although it was restricted to black lines in the cartoon in order to simplify animation process. For sleepware, he has been seen wearing green pajamas. In the summer, for summer clothes, he wears a white shirt with an aqua green collar, blue shorts, and brown sandals. In "Cast Away", he is shown wearing an orange checkered shirt and brown shorts

Personality
Although not very strict, David urges Arthur and D.W. to try new foods that he bakes; however, the foods are usually weird and exotic ones that Arthur and D.W. do not like. Mr. Read is equally disgusted at their preferred food, saying it will only give them dental problems. He also says that a year's supply of junk food is no prize. (Arthur and the Crunch Cereal Contest (episode).)

As with all father figures, David sometimes tends to come across as hard on Arthur and D.W. a lot of times, but that's only because he only wants them to do their best in life.

But all the same, he has a great relationship with his wife, children, family and other associates.

Past life
When David was a baby, he wore a pink shirt, white cloth diapers with a pin, and brown shoes. During his high school years, when he started dating Jane, as seen in a photo album in "Arthur's Eyes", he had a brown mullet hairstyle and a mustache and goatee and wore white and blue disco clothes that were fashionable between the late 1970s and early 1980s. He grew up in Elwood City with his two sisters, brother and his mother, Thora Read who possibly raised them all by herself due to the fact that her husband is unknown and has been absent throughout the series and is possibly deceased.

Appearances

 * Season 1
 * Arthur's Eyes 10101
 * Arthur's Spelling Trubble 10202
 * D.W. All Wet 10301
 * D.W.'s Imaginary Friend 10401
 * Arthur's Pet Business 10402
 * Arthur's Lost Library Book 10501
 * D.W. the Copycat 10502
 * Locked in the Library! 10601
 * 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
 * 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
 * The Perfect Brother 12102
 * D.W.'s Snow Mystery 12201
 * Arthur's Tooth 12401
 * D.W. Gets Lost 12402
 * D.W. Thinks Big 12501
 * Arthur Cleans Up 12502
 * D.W.'s Blankie 12701
 * Arthur's Substitute Teacher Trouble 12702
 * The Scare-Your-Pants-Off Club 12802
 * 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
 * Arthur Makes a Movie 20401
 * Go to Your Room, D.W. 20402
 * 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
 * Lost! 20901
 * The Short, Quick Summer 20902
 * D.W. Goes to Washington 21001
 * D.W.'s Deer Friend 21101
 * Arthur's Faraway Friend 21201
 * Arthur and the Square Dance (Cameo) 21202
 * Water and the Brain 21301
 * Arthur the Unfunny 21302
 * Sue Ellen's Lost Diary 21401
 * Grandma Thora Appreciation Day 21501
 * D.W. Blows the Whistle 21602
 * Francine Redecorates 21701
 * Arthur the Loser 21702
 * D.W.'s Very Bad Mood 21802
 * D.W.'s Name Game 21901
 * Finders Key-pers (Cameo) 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 (Fantasy) 30202
 * The Chips are Down (Cameo) 30501
 * Revenge of the Chip 30502
 * Meet Binky 30602
 * Dad's Dessert Dilemma 30702
 * Buster's Growing Grudge (Cameo) 30802
 * Arthur's Treasure Hunt 30901
 * Attack of the Turbo Tibbles (Doesn't speak) 31001
 * D.W. Tricks the Tooth Fairy 31002
 * Double Tibble Trouble 31101
 * Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival 31102
 * 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
 * Season 4
 * D.W.'s Library Card 40101
 * Arthur's Big Hit 40102
 * Hide and Snake 40201
 * Buster's Breathless 40301
 * Prove It 40402
 * The Blizzard 40501
 * The Rat Who Came to Dinner 40502
 * 1001 Dads 40801
 * Prunella's Prediction 40802
 * What is that Thing? 40901
 * Buster's Best Behavior 40902
 * Season 5
 * Arthur and the Big Riddle (Cameo) 50101
 * Double Dare 50102
 * Kids are from Earth, Parents are from Pluto 50201
 * Nerves of Steal 50202
 * The Shore Thing 50302
 * The World Record 50401
 * The Cave 50402
 * The Lousy Week 50501
 * You Are Arthur 50502
 * Pet Peeved 50702
 * The Last of Mary Moo Cow 50801
 * Just Desserts 50901
 * Arthur's Family Feud 51001
 * Season 6
 * Arthur Plays the Blues 60201
 * Buster's Sweet Success 60202
 * The Secret Life of Dogs and Babies 60302
 * Muffy's Soccer Shocker 60401
 * Arthur and Los Vecinos 60502
 * More! 60702
 * For Whom the Bell Tolls 60802
 * Crushed 60902
 * Season 7
 * Cast Away 70101
 * Ants in Arthur's Pants 70301
 * Elwood City Turns 100! 70501
 * 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? 70801
 * Return of the Snowball 70902
 * April 9th 71001
 * Season 8
 * Dear Adil 80101
 * Arthur's Snow Biz 80301
 * D.W., Dancing Queen (Cameo) 80402
 * Postcards from Buster 80601
 * Tales from the Crib 80802
 * Flea to Be You and Me 80901
 * Kiss and Tell 80902
 * Bleep 81002
 * Season 9
 * Castles in the Sky (Past) 90101
 * Francine's Big Top Trouble (Cameo) 90201
 * Arthur Weighs In (Cameo) 90301
 * My Fair Tommy (Cameo) 90402
 * Lights, Camera... Opera! 90501
 * All Worked Up 90502
 * It Came From Beyond 90602
 * D.W. Beats All 90901
 * Season 10
 * Happy Anniversary 10010
 * The Squirrels 100201
 * Feeling Flush (Cameo) 100401
 * Family Fortune 100402
 * D.W. Aims High 100501
 * Flaw and Order 100502
 * Arthur Changes Gears 100602
 * Unfinished 100701
 * D.W., Bossy Boots 100702
 * Binky vs. Binky (Cameo) 100801
 * Operation: D.W.! 100802
 * What's Cooking? 101001
 * Season 11
 * Swept Away (Cameo) 110101
 * Baby Kate and the Imaginary Mystery 110501
 * The Making of Arthur 110601
 * Dancing Fools 110602
 * Hic or Treat 110701
 * Buster Gets Real (Cameo) 110802
 * Big Brother Binky 11100
 * Season 12
 * Never, Never, Never 120101
 * Bats in the Belfry 120302
 * The Blackout 120801
 * Do You Believe in Magic? 120902
 * D.W.'s Furry Freak-out 121002
 * Season 13
 * Kung Fool 130202
 * Arthur's Number Nightmare (Fantasy) 130301
 * No Acting, Please (Cameo) 130501
 * When Carl Met George (Cameo) 130601
 * D.W. Swims with the Fishes 130602
 * Paradise Lost 130901
 * The Secret Origin of Supernova 131002
 * Season 14
 * D.W. Unties the Knot 140202
 * Falafelosophy (Cameo) 140401
 * The Great Lint Rush 140402
 * Pet Projects 140502
 * Buster Baxter & the Letter from the Sea (Cameo) 140602
 * Around the World in 11 Minutes 140701
 * Season 15
 * Fifteen 150100
 * Cents-less (Cameo) 150401
 * S.W.E.A.T. (Cameo) 150502
 * Grandpa Dave's Memory Album (Cameo) 150601
 * Buster's Carpool Catastrophe (Mentioned) 150602
 * Best Enemies 150802
 * Buster's Garden of Grief 150901
 * Through the Looking Glasses 150902
 * The Butler Did... What? (Cameo) 151001
 * The Trouble with Trophies 151002
 * Season 16
 * Read and Flumberghast 160502
 * Brain's Chess Mess (Cameo) 160602
 * The Best Day Ever (Cameo) 161002
 * Season 17
 * Adventures in Budylon (Mentioned) 170201
 * Molina's Mulligan (Mentioned) 170301
 * Just the Ticket 170402
 * All Thumbs 170501
 * Kidonia 170502
 * Pets and Pests 170701
 * Season 18
 * The Tattletale Frog 180101
 * D.W. & Bud's Higher Purpose 180102
 * The Substitute Arthur 180302
 * Whip. Mix. Blend. 180601
 * Staycation 180602
 * Two Minutes 180701
 * Arthur Read: Super Saver 180801
 * Tibbles to the Rescue (Mentioned) 180802
 * The Pageant Pickle 180901
 * Some Assembly Required 180902
 * Shelter from the Storm 181000
 * Season 19
 * One Ornery Critter 190501
 * Maria Speaks (Cameo) 190601
 * Carl's Concerto (Cameo) 190701
 * Season 20
 * Arthur and the Whole Truth 200102
 * He Said, He Said 200301
 * Bunny Trouble (Cameo) 200302
 * Mutiny on the Pitch 200602
 * Season 21
 * Francine & the Soccer Spy (Cameo) 210301
 * Invasion of the Soccer Fans 210701
 * Pal and the Big Itch 210702

Other Media
In the Living Books computer games, he had a light brown complexion in Arthur's Teacher Trouble, and it was changed to pale in Arthur's Birthday. In these two games, he was voiced by Tony Fardella before the cartoon show replaced him with Bruce Dinsmore.

In the later games during the 32-bit era of computers and software, such as Arthur's Thinking Games, his appearance was the same as he looks in the cartoon show.

Career
Mr. Read is a chef. He has been shown to all his work in part of a very large detached garage filled with expensive cooking and restaurant equipment. He has his own commercial vehicle with a mascot resembling Hamburger Helper & Pillsbury Dough Boy painted on the body of the van. He delivers the food to his customers in the van. His biggest customer is Ed Crosswire, of which he and Jane are very dependent on. If Ed were to cancel, David's business would be in jeopardy. David's biggest fan is Mr. Ratburn, who creates situations to meet David and follows Ed to the catering events. (Dad's Dessert Dilemma, The Secret Life of Dogs and Babies.)

Family
The Read's family consist of 6 members of the household: David Read, Jane, Arthur, D.W., Baby Kate and the family dog, Pal. His son Arthur always refers to him as "Dad", but D.W. usually refers to him as "Daddy", because D.W. is younger than Arthur. David has a mother also living in Elwood City, Thora Read. He has an older sister named Loretta who only appears in the segment "Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe". His father was never seen, and it is likely that his father may be deceased. He also had three uncles, who are shown in the segment "Clarissa is Cracked" and some or all of them may be deceased.

Friends

 * Ed Crosswire - A friend and usual customer of both the Reads' businesses.
 * Ramón Molina - They quickly become friends when they meet each other the first time. They both have a passion for cooking exotic foods.
 * Tatsuya Matsumoto - Tatsuya used to be David's pen pal when the two were children. Given his nostalgic moment when he rediscovered one of Tatsuya's letters, it can be assumed that the two were good friends when they still wrote to each other.
 * Nigel Ratburn - They went to college together, he likes David's cooking, and was invited to stay with The Reads.
 * Bailey - They went to college together.

Trivia

 * In D.W. Aims High, David said he was Arthur's age when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, meaning he was born around 1960 or 1961.