Real "D.W. will appear at schools, library

An illustration of Arthur and D.W.

On Monday, January 18, Kim Brown, sister of author Marc Brown and the inspiration for Arthur's sister D.W., will appear in Falls City. The schedule for her visits is as follows: North School - 9:45 A.M., South School - 1:45 P.M., and the Falls City Library and Arts Center - 6:30 P.M.

The school visits are sponsored by PIE, and the public appearance is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Books will be available for sale and autographing. Proceeds from the books will help purchase new materials for the Falls City Lbrary and Arts Center.

The school presentations will introduce Marc Brown and his characters. Ms. Brown will answer children's and teacher's questions about the author. She will share a family photo album.

The author's sister will also show her audience how an Arthur book is made and reveal the formula for drawing Arthur. She will encourage the students to write and illustrate their own Arthur stories.

Kim Brown gives her brother Marc Brown "bunny ears," something D.W. might do, as he autographs an Arthur book.

"Sometimes, I don't know if I should even admit that I'm the real DW., said Ms. Brown. "She can be a tad sassy at times." The author and her family, two sisters and one brother, grew up on the shores of Lake Erie in Millcreek, PA. She attended college in Boston and received her Associates Degree from Newberry Junior College, followed by a Certificate from Paris Fashion Institute in Paris, France. She worked in interior decorating for several years, and later turned her passion for cooking into a gourmet catering business. Now, Kim visits schools and libraries acorss the country and shares childhood memories with children about growing up with Marc.

"Being the baby of the family, I suppose I had to be assertive in order to be heard," said the author's sister, "but I never imagined that my creative big brother would one day model a character as wonderful as D.W. after me." She added, "I am truly honored to be an assertive aardvark that millions of children, all over the world, learn lessons from every day."

Kim lives in Litchfield, Nebraska, with her son Miles. When she is not visiting schools, some of her favorite hobbies are gardening, antiquing, reading, music, cooking, football, and, most of all, spending time with her son and her family.