Arthur (PBS) Trivia
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100 free Arthur (PBS) trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
42 free Arthur (PBS) trivia questions with answers. Arthur trivia for everyone who grew up with the aardvark in the round glasses - and for the parents who ended up humming Believe in Yourself. The quiz covers Marc Brown's original 1976 picture book, the 1996 PBS premiere, the 25 seasons and 253 episodes that made it the longest-running children's cartoon in America, and the whole Lakewood Elementary crowd: D.W. and her snowball, Buster's asthma and alien theories, Francine and Muffy, the Brain, Binky's peanut allergy, Sue Ellen, Fern, George and Wally, Mr. Ratburn and his cake habit. There are questions on the guest stars (Mister Rogers, Matt Damon, the Backstreet Boys), the reggae theme by Ziggy Marley, the episode behind the clenched-fist meme, Mr. Ratburn's wedding and the flash-forward finale. Easy questions any viewer will get open the set; the later ones will test someone who can name the principal who moved to Tanzania. Every answer has been checked against a reference page and each question shows its citation.
30 of 100 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What kind of animal is Arthur Read?
An aardvark
An aardvark was simply the first animal that came to mind: asked by his young son for a story about a weird animal, Arthur's creator started at the top of the alphabet.
Q 02In which fictional city is the PBS series Arthur set?
Elwood
Elwood City marked its centenary in the special 'Elwood City Turns 100!', where Larry King turned up to interview Arthur and his friends.
Q 03Which children's author created Arthur, first as a bedtime story for his son Tolon?
Marc Brown
Marc Brown has hidden the names of his own children, Tolon, Tucker and Eliza, in the illustrations ever since the second Arthur book.
Q 04The first picture book about Arthur, published in 1976, was named after which feature of his?
His nose
His nose: in 'Arthur's Nose' he is so unhappy with his long snout that he visits a rhinologist for a new one, then decides to keep the one he has.
Q 05Arthur's first TV story, shown on PBS in October 1996, was about him getting what?
Glasses
Glasses: when classmates call him four-eyes he tries to go without them, until he learns that the actor who plays his favourite TV hero wears a pair too.
Q 06In Arthur's 2022 finale, what has the grown-up Arthur become?
Graphic novelist
Graphic novelist: the grown-up Arthur reads his friends his first book, a comic about his own childhood that opens with the show's very first story.
Q 07Which show has since passed Arthur as America's longest-running children's animated series?
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants, on air since 1999, took the record because it never stopped: Arthur's own run had ended in 2022, after 25 seasons.
Q 08Which PBS station developed Arthur with the books' author after phoning him in January 1993?
WGBH Boston
WGBH Boston's producer simply rang him up; he said he always turned such offers down, but thought PBS would be the right home for Arthur.
Q 09In which country did Arthur's voice cast record the show?
Canada
Canada: the cast there were mostly child actors, so Arthur himself was recast again and again as each boy's voice broke.
Q 10Who performed Arthur's reggae theme song, 'Believe in Yourself'?
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers sang the original; the Backstreet Boys later covered it over the closing credits of their own Arthur special.
Q 11Which song does D.W. play over and over on CD, driving her brother Arthur to despair?
'Crazy Bus'
'Crazy Bus' was written and sung by head writer Joe Fallon; when the CD vanishes, D.W. blames Arthur, but their father had taken it to a reunion by mistake.
Q 12What grade is Arthur in for nearly all of the show's 25 seasons?
Third
Third grade lasted 25 years for the eight-year-old: Arthur only started fourth grade in the 2021 special 'Arthur's First Day'.
Q 13What do Arthur's parents, David and Jane Read, do for a living?
Chef and accountant
Chef and accountant: David caters from the family kitchen and Jane does her clients' taxes from the den, so both parents work at home.
Q 21Sue Ellen Armstrong has lived all over the world because her father does what job?
Diplomat
Diplomat: her father's postings kept the family moving from country to country, so Sue Ellen joined Arthur's class partway through the school year as the new kid.
Q 22Which classmate of Arthur's is a shy moose who does ventriloquism with a giraffe dummy called Wally?
George Lundgren
George Lundgren is so timid that he often lets Wally, his sassier alter ego, do the talking, and confides his school troubles to the dummy.
Q 23Which shy classmate of Arthur's is a dog who loves poetry and solving mysteries?
Fern Walters
Q 14What do D.W.'s initials stand for?
Dora Winifred
Dora Winifred is a hand-me-down: D.W. was named after the late sister of Theo, the patriarch of the Read family farm.
Q 15What is the name of D.W.'s imaginary friend, a squirrel who acts as her conscience?
Nadine
Nadine is calm where D.W. is not, turning up with sensible advice whenever D.W. feels guilty or scared; D.W. rarely takes it.
Q 16Which pair in Arthur's household secretly hold conversations that nobody else can understand?
Kate and Pal
Kate and Pal chat freely because babies and animals understand each other in the show; Kate starts to lose the gift as she grows and learns to talk.
Q 17Which description fits Arthur's best friend, Buster Baxter?
A rabbit with asthma
A rabbit with asthma: when his friends learn of the diagnosis they treat Buster as fragile, even contagious, until he explains that it changes nothing.
Q 18What job does Francine Frensky's father do?
Sanitation engineer
Sanitation engineer Oliver Frensky is proud of his job at the city dump, and makes light of it when his teenage daughter Catherine is embarrassed.
Q 19In Arthur, what does the Brain's family shop sell?
Ice cream
Ice cream: when a hurricane wrecks the family's parlour despite careful preparations, the Brain is so shaken that he needs a therapist's help.
Q 20Why is Binky Barnes older than the rest of his class at Lakewood Elementary?
He was held back a year
He was held back a year, which Binky is oddly proud of; the class bully also keeps quiet about his love of ballet and butterflies.
Fern Walters is the quietest of the gang, yet she speaks her mind when pushed, and her love of Sherlock Holmes makes her the class detective.
Q 24In the 2019 episode 'Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone', whom does Arthur's teacher marry?
Patrick
Patrick, a kindly chocolatier, is the surprise: the class spends the episode dreading a marriage to bossy Patty, who turns out to be Mr. Ratburn's sister.
Q 25Which Arthur episode supplied the clenched-fist still that became a huge internet meme in 2016?
'Arthur's Big Hit'
'Arthur's Big Hit' is the one where he punches D.W. for wrecking his model plane; in July 2016 the frame of his balled fist spread across Twitter as a reaction image.
Q 26Which PBS host stays at Arthur's house as himself in a 1997 episode, to Arthur's embarrassment?
Fred Rogers
Fred Rogers plays himself: Arthur hides the visit, sure his friends think Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is a baby show, until the man himself wins over the class.
Q 27Which comedian voiced Bubby, Francine's grandmother, in two Arthur episodes?
Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers played Bubby in 'Is That Kosher?', where Francine vows to fast for Yom Kippur and then absent-mindedly bites into a slice at Arthur's pizza party.
Q 28Which movie star appeared as himself in the episode 'The Making of Arthur'?
Matt Damon
Matt Damon, drawn as one of the show's animals, asks viewers of his TV programme to send in home movies, which sets off a film-making craze among Arthur's friends.
Q 29Which award did Arthur win in 2000 for telling stories from a child's point of view without talking down?
A Peabody Award
A Peabody Award: the judges praised Arthur's easygoing attitude and the way it lets children work through their own problems, without moralizing.
Q 30Which hip-hop artist released 'Wonderful Everyday', a reworking of the Arthur theme song, in 2014?
Chance the Rapper
Chance the Rapper had been performing the cover at his shows, then released a studio version with Wyclef Jean and Jessie Ware to mark his Lollapalooza set.