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D.W.
D.W. Thinks Big with Plush
Looking for the perfect gift for D.W. fans? Here's an adorable ten-inch-high plush toy accompanied by one of Marc Brown's most popular titles, D.W. Thinks Big. Kids will love reading about how Arthur's little sister saves Aunt Lucy's wedding day. This favorite story, with its own cuddly D.W., is guaranteed to delight her many fans. Full color.
Hardcover
First published April 1, 1993
2 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Marc Brown
548 books382 followersMarc Tolon Brown is perhaps best known for his series of children's books about Arthur the aardvark, which was turned into an animated television show on PBS. Brown is a three-time Emmy Award winner, for his role on the television show inspired by his books.
He lives on Martha's Vineyard and in New York City with his wife, Laurie Krasny Brown. He has three children, sons Tolon and Tucker, and daughter Eliza. The names of his two sons have been hidden in all of the Arthur books except for one: Arthur's Tooth.
He lives on Martha's Vineyard and in New York City with his wife, Laurie Krasny Brown. He has three children, sons Tolon and Tucker, and daughter Eliza. The names of his two sons have been hidden in all of the Arthur books except for one: Arthur's Tooth.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 29, 2022
Not all fans of the overall Arthur franchise realize that some episodes of the PBS animated television program weren't based on Marc Brown's Arthur Adventures book series, but on the spinoff about D.W., his sister. Such was the case for "D.W. Thinks Big", an episode first aired March 10, 1997, based on the 1993 book of the same name. When Aunt Lucy's wedding day arrives, D.W., Arthur, and their parents hurriedly prepare for the ceremony. Arthur will be the ring bearer and Cousin Cora the flower girl, but D.W. is considered too young to take an active role. How can she have fun if she's only allowed to sit and watch?
The high energy swirling around the wedding appeals to D.W., but everyone is too busy to pay her any mind. She drifts at the periphery, hoping to find a way to contribute, but no one takes a four-year-old seriously. Then, calamity strikes as Arthur bears the ring down the aisle: in a moment of distraction it falls from the pillow and bounces into a heating vent in the floor. Even with the grate removed, it's too tiny an opening for Uncle Shelly or even Arthur to fit into. Is this the moment for D.W. to step up? She might be a more able participant in the day's activities than anyone gave her credit for.
Narrative messages in Marc Brown's books are rarely powerful, but they're memorable. At any age and stage of life, you find people who dismiss your abilities. They place you in narrow niches based on their own biases, and the only way to get out is through innovative thinking: how do my unique skills align with the situation I'm in? What is needed in this moment that only I could or would provide? If you do that, and are ready when a glimmer of opportunity shows, you can be as much a success as D.W. at her aunt's wedding. I might rate D.W. Thinks Big two and a half stars; the illustration style is different from the original Arthur Adventure series, but the story has the same heart. I've always loved reading Marc Brown.
(By the way, a brief postscript: I find the name of Arthur's uncle to be interesting; it was uncommon for a boy in that era, and in the season fifteen episode of the Arthur television series, titled "What's In a Name?", we discover that Binky Barnes's real first name is Shelley.)
The high energy swirling around the wedding appeals to D.W., but everyone is too busy to pay her any mind. She drifts at the periphery, hoping to find a way to contribute, but no one takes a four-year-old seriously. Then, calamity strikes as Arthur bears the ring down the aisle: in a moment of distraction it falls from the pillow and bounces into a heating vent in the floor. Even with the grate removed, it's too tiny an opening for Uncle Shelly or even Arthur to fit into. Is this the moment for D.W. to step up? She might be a more able participant in the day's activities than anyone gave her credit for.
Narrative messages in Marc Brown's books are rarely powerful, but they're memorable. At any age and stage of life, you find people who dismiss your abilities. They place you in narrow niches based on their own biases, and the only way to get out is through innovative thinking: how do my unique skills align with the situation I'm in? What is needed in this moment that only I could or would provide? If you do that, and are ready when a glimmer of opportunity shows, you can be as much a success as D.W. at her aunt's wedding. I might rate D.W. Thinks Big two and a half stars; the illustration style is different from the original Arthur Adventure series, but the story has the same heart. I've always loved reading Marc Brown.
(By the way, a brief postscript: I find the name of Arthur's uncle to be interesting; it was uncommon for a boy in that era, and in the season fifteen episode of the Arthur television series, titled "What's In a Name?", we discover that Binky Barnes's real first name is Shelley.)
January 11, 2018
I love when I find random books in the freecycle. In this case, I wanted to read it because I read so many Arthur books when I was little that I know that the ones that I already had marked as read were just the most memorable ones and not actually all of the ones I had read (Call me obsessive, fine, but incomplete records on the books I've read irk me). And having finished reading it, I do think this was one I've read before.
This one was pretty standard for the D.W. set of Arthur books. I really prefer when D.W. learns a lesson to when she comes out the winner, mostly because she's characterized as kind of bratty, but she didn't do anything that really deserved negative consequences here, so her winning the day didn't bug me too much. Everything was still written according to established character. Not my favorite of the Arthur books, but certainly not a bad installment.
This one was pretty standard for the D.W. set of Arthur books. I really prefer when D.W. learns a lesson to when she comes out the winner, mostly because she's characterized as kind of bratty, but she didn't do anything that really deserved negative consequences here, so her winning the day didn't bug me too much. Everything was still written according to established character. Not my favorite of the Arthur books, but certainly not a bad installment.
November 15, 2019
I was a little nervous about this book being the pigeon that I am. Our near & dear cousins have a painful reality as wedding release doves & I thought this book would be triggering. But no doves here! I think it relied a bit heavily on the typical problem situation-heroic theme, but I did enjoy the fact someone small saves the day. You don't need to be an elephant to be mighty! Smaller beings have got what it takes too!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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May 1, 2023The show is a better choice for many of these Arthur stories I think..
Dw can fit into the vent where the ring falls in, so gets to take over Arthurs ring bearer job.
shows Arthur's aunt in her dressing room wearing her under slip.
Dw can fit into the vent where the ring falls in, so gets to take over Arthurs ring bearer job.
shows Arthur's aunt in her dressing room wearing her under slip.
December 12, 2021
I read this book to my granddaughter. She looked at the pictures and followed along. It is a cute story.
July 14, 2022
Cute. Would be good if a wedding was coming up.
March 5, 2020
D.W Thinks Big by Marc Brown
Genre: Picture Book - Board Book
No awards given
Audience: Pre- K - Kindergarten
“D.W Thinks Big” is a picture book and a board book because it is made out of thick paperboard.
The author uses the visual element of space to contribute to the characters emotions. There are pages that just have D.W or another character, that has little or no background. This is used to portray the way that the character feels and contributes to the overall message of the book.
I would use this book in a small group.
This book could start lots of good discussion about how situations cause people to feel. I could use this book to teach my students to really think about how character feels. This book is intended for a young audience therefore, this would be a good book to teach young children to infer and understand characters.
Genre: Picture Book - Board Book
No awards given
Audience: Pre- K - Kindergarten
“D.W Thinks Big” is a picture book and a board book because it is made out of thick paperboard.
The author uses the visual element of space to contribute to the characters emotions. There are pages that just have D.W or another character, that has little or no background. This is used to portray the way that the character feels and contributes to the overall message of the book.
I would use this book in a small group.
This book could start lots of good discussion about how situations cause people to feel. I could use this book to teach my students to really think about how character feels. This book is intended for a young audience therefore, this would be a good book to teach young children to infer and understand characters.
Read
May 19, 2022Read for "Reading My Childhood Favorite Books To Celebrate My Birthday!!" https://youtu.be/KpLI4YTKV3Y
December 1, 2014
he first time I went to Disneyland I wanted to go on every ride. I was only three years old at the time and because I was very short I unfortunately was not allowed to go on some of them. Being told you’re too little to do something is the absolute worst! In D.W. Thinks Big, D.W. knows exactly how this feels. It is the day of her aunt’s wedding and it seems as though everyone has been assigned a job except for her. Her older brother Arthur is the ring bearer, her cousin is the flower girl, and D.W. isn’t allowed to do anything. She is not having fun at all but eventually the wedding ceremony begins. As Arthur is walking down the aisle, the ring bounces off his pillow and roles into a vent. Everyone tries to get it but no one is small enough to reach where it is. Finally D.W. is turned to and she volunteers to stick her hand down the vent to reach it. She is the perfect size! D.W. saves the day because she is wonderful just the way she is.
I loved reading D.W. Thinks Big and feel that it is a awesome children’s book. Oftentimes parents or other friends will tell kids that they can’t do a specific task because of something about them. D.W. proves this to be untrue and unfair as she rises above all of the negative comments she was receiving and grabs the ring. From the beginning this story started out with a captivating plot line. Character development was able to occur as the story jumped right into the trials D.W. was facing. As a reader, I was able to follow along her emotional journey as the story progressed and D.W. overcame the struggle of character vs. society. I also enjoyed how the plot took its audience to different settings and introduced multiple characters throughout the book. The color scheme was also a huge component as well. When D.W. was mad the colors were more bright oranges and reds where if she was happy, there were more calm yellows and purples.
Overall I thought that D.W. Thinks Big was a very effective children’s book. Not only will kids enjoy the fun read but they will also be inspired to never let what others say get them down. I highly recommend this great book.
I loved reading D.W. Thinks Big and feel that it is a awesome children’s book. Oftentimes parents or other friends will tell kids that they can’t do a specific task because of something about them. D.W. proves this to be untrue and unfair as she rises above all of the negative comments she was receiving and grabs the ring. From the beginning this story started out with a captivating plot line. Character development was able to occur as the story jumped right into the trials D.W. was facing. As a reader, I was able to follow along her emotional journey as the story progressed and D.W. overcame the struggle of character vs. society. I also enjoyed how the plot took its audience to different settings and introduced multiple characters throughout the book. The color scheme was also a huge component as well. When D.W. was mad the colors were more bright oranges and reds where if she was happy, there were more calm yellows and purples.
Overall I thought that D.W. Thinks Big was a very effective children’s book. Not only will kids enjoy the fun read but they will also be inspired to never let what others say get them down. I highly recommend this great book.
March 15, 2012
Cute book. I like how they use the context of just because she is smaller does not mean she is not just as importatn. I loved the illustrations, come on of curse its Marc Brown. The storyline was very cute and it would be great for a personal reading for any student.
September 29, 2008
The only thing that took me off guard was the picture of D.W.'s mom dressed in a slip getting ready for the wedding. It was a pretty tasteful piece of lingerie anyway.
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February 14, 2009GREAT!
August 12, 2011
good early reader, using text to relate to the television show
March 19, 2023
Arthur drops the ring into a heating vent and D.W. saves Aunt Lucy's wedding and retrieves the ring.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2014
Weirdly, I don't like most of the book series that PBS has made into animated shows. The weird part is that I quite like the shows. I still can't believe they're supposed to be aardvarks. Meh.
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August 17, 20182740
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews