Editing D.W.'s Library Card (episode)

[[File:DWLC_8-Year-Old_Baby_Arthur.png|thumb|left|200px|Arthur's imagination of himself dressed up as a baby for checking out baby books.]][[D.W. Read|D.W.]] goes to the [[Elwood City Public Library|library]] with her brother [[Arthur Read|Arthur]] and she has to learn how to write her name to get her first library card.

[[Binky Barnes|Binky]] reads a book called ''[[Frédéric Chopin|Chopin]]'' to D.W., but Arthur states she's bothering him, although Binky points out she's not listening to the story. He claims the book is about "Choppin'", a famous karate master, though D.W. knows it's actually about the great classical composer Frédéric Chopin. Arthur then takes D.W.'s hand and walks her away from Binky.

D.W. then picks up a book called ''[[Hopalong the Frog]]'', and suggests that Arthur should check it out for her. Arthur then receives the book from D.W., but refuses to check it out, believing that it is a baby book that could go onto his permanent record.

Arthur then imagines himself checking out ''Hopalong the Frog'', but the alarms go off, red lights flash, the speaker says that Arthur is a baby and that the books leveled for his age and older are off limits (metal blocks drop down from the ceiling and onto the bookshelves that have books leveled for Arthur's age and older).

Then [[Paige Turner]] would punish Arthur by making him check out baby books only, plus dress him up as a baby by forcing him to wear a bonnet on his head, a pacifier in his mouth, a diaper over his pants, and carry a baby bottle in his hand, and then his friends (especially [[Francine Frensky|Francine]]) would call him a baby, and that a photo of him dressed as a baby would be taken, much to his embarrassment.

Back to reality, Arthur then puts the book back where D.W. found it, and admits that it would be too risky for him to check it out. D.W. then admits that sooner or later, she will have her very own library card and check out whatever book she wants.

D.W. then goes to watch a puppet show hosted by [[Nigel Ratburn|Mr. Ratburn]] with the other pre-schoolers. After watching the show, D.W. asks Miss Turner when she will be old enough to get a library card, and Miss Turner admits that D.W. is old enough, because she's five years old.

Then the kids argue how many library cards they may have, but Ms. Turner says all of them each may have one library card, but should be able to write their full names, but D.W. doesn't know how to read or write. [[Tibble Twins|Tommy and Timmy Tibble]] say they know how to write, but D.W. began to worry since her full name is long and barely says it. Tommy said that her name is easy to spell and should be glad she doesn't have a name like [[Aloysius Zimmerplotz]]

Arthur and D.W. then walk home from the library, and D.W. says she's going to get the same book, ''Hopalong the Frog'' and that Arthur can't do anything about it. Arthur proves that D.W. cannot read, but D.W. says that they have to write their full names to check out books. Arthur says that D.W. cannot write, either, but D.W. says she's going to learn to write.

[[File:DWLC Handwriting Practice.png|thumb|D.W. learns how to write her full name.]]

At home, D.W. starts to learn to write by herself. On her first attempt, she writes a mirrored letter D, then crumples up the paper and throws it out.

Then she writes "DoRa" with the letter R capitalized backwards on another piece of paper, and crumpled that and threw it out. She takes another piece of paper, then writes the mirrored letter D, then the tip of the pencil breaks off.

She practices for hours, but all of her attempts fail. Then Arthur walks in, and finds out she wrote "DoBa Minifred ReaBed" with the letter B's capitalized and backwards, and the letter M as a flipped W in "Winifred". D.W. then faints that she cannot write.

[[File:DWLC Handwriting Improvements.png|thumb|left|200px|D.W.'s handwriting goes into improvements.]]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back at the library, it is not just a library, but rather a library courtroom with stalactites hanging from the ceiling. An evil Miss Turner then reprimands D.W. about damaging books, and that she may never have a library card anymore, and then stamps D.W.'s library card with a large red X-mark.

D.W. complains that she worked so hard to get the library card, and then the Tibble twins walk by with a stack of books and taunt to D.W. that there are more books for them. Then her evil brother Arthur walks by and insults her by telling her that she would never have a library card. Then D.W. falls to her knees and starts to cry that it isn't fair what happened.

 

*The library cards depicted in this episode feature a book with wings, but "[[Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival]]," the cards included a picture of the cardholder. This may have been to avoid spending time on a scene in which D.W. and the other children had to have their photos taken for their cards. (In reality, library cards in the United States are not typically also photo IDs.)

*A scene from this episode is featured in the picture book ''If All the Animals Came Inside'', which was written by Eric Pinder, but illustrated by [[Marc Brown]]. In the scene in question, the main character of the book is in his living room with several rhinoceroses, and it states "The rhinos downstairs would be watching TV. They'd stand in the way and leave no more room for me!" The television shows D.W. with Arthur, reading ''Hopalong the Frog''.

 

*When D.W. looks on the same shelf looking for Hop Along the Frog, you can see a book called "Pete Rabbit," obviously referencing "{{W|Peter Rabbit}}"; and a book called "The Life and Times of [[Marc Brown]]."

*Arthur wearing some baby clothes is a reference to a reunion flashback where [[Monique|Mo]] once dressed him up as a baby in "[[Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe]]".

 

*While Arthur is wearing his black jacket, his yellow sweater that he usually wears is missing whenever the jacket is seen partially unzipped.

</gallery>}}