Arnold Perlstein

Description

Arnold, in particular, usually dislikes most field trips on the Magic School Bus, normally being an unwilling participant. Despite his usually timid moments and some nervous breakdowns, he is shown to have a brave personality when he's needed to, and he's very loyal when it comes to his classmates, even taking up a leadership role a number of times. He has a huge interest in rocks and minerals, and is the youngest member of GRANITE (the Great Rock Admirers' National Institute of Tectonics Experts), an organization for amateur geologists. He also mentions a fascination in colors in Makes a Rainbow. He has shown interest in conserving the environment, as he wanted to save the rotting log in "Meets the Rot Squad" and have the class collect stuff to recycle in the Holiday Special. Despite his paranoia for field trips, he does love having the Frizzles as teachers. Deep down, Arnold enjoys their adventures, though he is too nervous to show it, and he does not usually like surprises. He even stood in Valerie Frizzle's defense when the class went on trial during the original series episode "In a Pickle" and when his cousin, Janet, tried to show off and say that her teacher is better than his, Arnold interrupted her before she could finish and said, "Nobody is better than Ms. [Professor] Frizzle" during "Gets Lost in Space". When it comes to riding the Bus, Arnold just likes to stay safe because of all the dangerous happenings, but he genuinely and deeply does care for his friends and the Frizzles, and enjoys a wonderfully wild ride on the Magic School Bus (just not too wild).