Binky Barnes

Shelley  "Binky" Barnes is a 3rd grader in Mr. Ratburn's class at Lakewood Elementary School. He is the founder and leader of a club of bullies called the Tough Customers. However, he does have a softer side, which has been seen more often lately.

Physical appearance
Binky Barnes is an anthropomorphic bulldog and usually wears a long sleeved orange-pecan button up shirt, dark blue slacks, a light blue belt buckle, and brown loafers. He usually wears his shirt tucked into his pants. In the chapter book Arthur and the World Record, after the record of the tallest man in the world is mentioned, who is 8 feet, 11 inches, Binky mentions that that is twice as tall as he is, meaning that Binky measures around 4 feet, 5 1/2 inches.

For formal occasions Binky will wear a gray polka dotted suit with a top front pocket on the right hand side of the jacket. Binky kept 3 pencils in this pocket. The suit also has two pockets, one on each side, with the pocket on the left hand side being slightly above the one on the right. The suit has two buttons and a black sleeve patch, one on each sleeve. He also wears a white collar shirt, a light green tie, matching trousers and black shoes. He wears green pajamas and green slippers for bed.

Personality
Though Binky is generally portrayed as the typical school bully (more so in the earlier episodes), he also has a softer side: he dances ballet, plays the clarinet and flute, and is a lepidopterologist (butterfly collector), but wants to keep the butterflies alive while in his collection. He usually keeps these interests private and rarely tells or shows others about them.

Binky is a keen cyclist, as well. We see in numerous episodes that Binky cycles to school and enters most cycling tournaments in Elwood City. His most treasured possession is his Lance Armstrong t-shirt.

Binky also has an interest in the fine arts. He enjoys the works of various poets and classical music composers, such as Frédéric Chopin, the great romantic composer.

He also secretly is afraid of the dark and worried about having a physical confrontation (fight) with Sue Ellen- as Binky has actually never had to fight anyone during all the years he was considered to be a bully. He is also afraid of Santa Claus, though claims not to be. He is Forward and Goalkeeper for the Lakewood Elementary Soccer Club.

Binky seems to thoroughly enjoy art as one time he put a lot of effort into correcting a picture in an art gallery, which was hung in a different way to that which the artist intended.

Family

 * Mrs. Barnes: Binky's mom is a nurse who loves her son very much, and probably isn't very aware of his bullying habits. She's very well-meaning, but occasionally can be a worrywart, as evidenced after she discovered Binky had a serious peanut allergy, during which she kept constant watch on him. Binky seems to love her very much, as he made put a lot of effort trying to make her a rhyming card for her birthday.
 * Mr. Barnes: Little is known of Binky's dad since he only appears occasionally, other than the fact that he too is very loving towards his son.
 * Mei-Lin Barnes: Binky's baby sister Mei-Lin is from China and was adopted by the Barnes family very recently. At first, Binky didn't know how to open up to his new sister, but with patience and some hard work, the two of them developed a very strong bond. Binky takes good care of his sister and works hard to raise her along with his parents, and is excited when Mei-Lin shows signs of growth, as he was thrilled when she learned to stand by herself.

Future Life

 * In the intro to the episode, "The Election", it is revealed that Binky will be a member of The United States Secret Service.

Quotes
"I was scared of the dark too, but I was more scared of Binky Barnes."

- Buster Baxter

"Sometimes I just can't figure Binky out. It's like he's two different people: Bully Binky and, uh... that other guy. I think I like the other guy best."

- Arthur Read

Trivia

 * Binky has a liking for Chinese food.
 * According to the chapter book "Arthur and the World Record", Binky is 4.458 feet (about 4 feet 5 ½ inches).
 * Binky was held back in the third grade due to what was implied to be his poor academic performance, a fact he is proud of, given certain circumstances. Thus, he should have been in the fourth grade with the Tough Customers and Prunella. He is 9 years old and not the same age as the other 3rd graders, though in "Binky vs. Binky," a form he has says he is 10 years old.
 * He is allergic to peanuts as revealed in "Binky Goes Nuts." However, he was originally allergic to pollen in "Francine's Bad Hair Day", but in later episodes seems to have love for flowers (especially during the song "Library Card" in "Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival") and has no allergic reactions to pollen. This is an inaccuracy not noted in the show.
 * He is considered the best member of the school band due to his expertise with the clarinet, rivaled only by Sue Ellen on the saxophone, coming at a close second to Binky.
 * In the episode "Bully for Binky", Binky seems to not like ballet. But in the later seasons, Binky has grown to have an affinity for it and is shown to be extremely talented at ballet.
 * Binky hates going on the Science Museum field trip because he was held back and already knows what will happen.
 * Binky's Birthday according to him is next month in "Brother Can You Spare a Clarinet?, when you calculate Arthur birthday plus the time Arthur said, you could determine that Binky's Birthday is in October because the episode is based in September. It is confirmed that Binky's birthday is sometime between September and May, because a score card in "Binky vs. Binky" says that he was 10 in that episode, which took place in May.
 * Despite bullying George a lot, Binky has been seen hanging out with him. In some episodes he's even seen playing with him.
 * As seen in "Night Fright," Binky is revealed to have a nightlight so that he would not have nightmares. Binky also sings about this in the song "My Night Light."
 * Binky's character was based on a fourth grader known to Marc Brown with a potato-like nose who tortured him and his fellow classmates at recess.