Thora Read

Thora Read is the mother of David Read and his siblings as well as the grandmother to their children, including Arthur, D.W. and Kate.

Personality
She is shown to be very kind, supportive, and understanding, but is also a poor cook. She loves bingo and is best friends with Mrs. MacGrady, lunchlady for Lakewood Elementary. She sometimes babysits her grandkids such as on New Year's Eve, when she allowed D.W. to stay up until midnight not knowing that D.W.'s parents already told her that she couldn't. She's also very good at playing marbles and gives Arthur some lessons on how to play the game well. In Family Fortune, she goes to an antique show with two of her grandchildren.

She has a prized doll named Clarissa (shown in Clarissa is Cracked). In the same episode, it is revealed that she has three older brothers, but neither one is mentioned by name. She was also allowed to go for walks from one place to another without anyone else (such as walking from the ice cream parlor where the entire family was at to the toy store and look in its window). She also takes in a stray dog named Killer that was found on her porch. It is unknown what happened to her spouse. It has never been mentioned about her husband or if she ever had one.

Trivia

 * She is named after author Marc Brown's own grandmother, Thora Brown.
 * When she was a child, Thora had a close resemblance to D.W.
 * In D.W., the Picky Eater, it is revealed that Thora's birthday is on the 18th day of an unknown month with 31 days (there are 7).
 * In April 9th, her son David told Arthur that when he was young, Thora was in a car accident but wasn't hurt.
 * In later episodes she has been shown to be cooking better.
 * In publicity/promotional materials, she is typically referred to as "Grandma Thora."

Appearances

 * Season 1
 * Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe
 * Arthur's Chicken Pox
 * Arthur's Almost Boring Day
 * The Half-Baked Sale
 * Arthur's New Year's Eve
 * Season 2
 * D.W. the Picky Eater
 * Grandma Thora Appreciation Day
 * Arthur vs. the Very Mean Crossing Guard
 * Season 3
 * Arthur Rides the Bandwagon


 * Season 4
 * The Blizzard


 * Season 5
 * Just Desserts


 * Season 6
 * Arthur Loses His Marbles
 * Season 7
 * Is There a Doctor in the House?
 * Season 8
 * Postcards from Buster
 * Bleep
 * Season 9
 * Arthur Weighs In 903a
 * It Came from Beyond
 * Season 10
 * Family Fortune
 * Season 17
 * Dog's Best Friend
 * Season 20
 * That's MY Grandma!