Basketball whiz Lydia to join 'Arthur'

After a nationwide contest to invent a new character, a little girl who uses a wheelchair and plays a mean game of basketball will be joining the PBS Kids' show Arthur. A sketch (right) by Minnesota six-grader Connor Gordon was selected from some 8,500 entries. The producers were so impressed with Lydia they decided to write the character into the show instead of having her just visit. "The drawing is fabulous," Arthur senior producer Jacqui Deegan told The Pioneer Press. "And she just has that spirit of creativity and positive energy. We also love the idea of her being able to play wheelchair basketball. We like to show kids playing sports." After CVS Caremark All Kids Can came on last year as a corporate underwriter, the contest seemed a natural: The pharmacy's charity works to raise public awareness about children with disabilities. See all the finalists here.