Katie and Orbie - Friends and Other Characters

Friends and Other Characters

• Mrs. Elaine Parette - A friend of the family, she is an old woman who likes children and is usually seen baking cakes or cookies for them. She has a big willow in her garden which serves as a hideout for Katie, Orbie and their friends. She has at least one daughter, as well as at least two grandchildren. She is always referred simply as Mrs. Parette, being one of the few characters that has a surname. Her name, Elaine, was mentioned by Katie's mother in the story Mrs. Parette's Picture, which was her first appearance.

• Chance - The family's cat. She has orange fur, except for her left ear which has white fur.

First appearance: The Day Chance Found a New Home, but first seen as a background on Katie's First Sleepover

• Andy - A boy who resembles Katie, although his hair is paler. His parents are divorced and he lives with his mother and his stepfather named Harry. He is one of the three "regular" friends of the main characters, the other two being Arthur and Yee Ping.

First appearance: Andy's Birthday Present

• Arthur - A boy who was at first a bully, who gets angry easily and can even hit someone who is bothering him (Katie on only one occasion). Later, his appearance was changed and he was depicted as a simple boy, although a bit mischievous, who plays normally with the other kids.

First appearance: The Day Arthur Smacked Katie

• Yee Ping - A girl of Chinese origin, who is very friendly and has even taught Katie and Orbie some Chinese traditions. After Orbie, she was Katie's second friend introduced on the series. When she was introduced, her skin was light brown, however during the course of the series her skin becomes white.

First appearance: Yee Ping

• Kyra - A young girl, with the same hair color as Andy, usually wearing a diadem over it. She has asthma and, on a later appearance, also wears glasses. Her parents are never seen, only her grandmother has appeared. She mostly appears during seasons 2 and 3. Along with Dakota, she is rarely seen during the Amberwood Entertainment seasons.

First appearance: Everybody Counts, but formally introduced on Kyra, a later episode.

• Phoebe and Bryn - Sisters who are always seen together. Phoebe is the youngest and Bryn is the oldest. Phoebe has blonde hair, and Bryn has brown hair. Bryn has an egg allergy.

First appearance: Does It Have Eggs In It?

• Dakota - a Native American boy. Although a common character on the Lakewood seasons, he is practically written out on the Amberwood Entertainment seasons, only appearing a few times, and is "replaced" by the Latin character Miguel.

First appearance: The Pow-Wow

• Micah - A nine-year-old boy who has Down Syndrome. He lives on a farm with his mother named Ara. On his mother's farm they have several animals, including a mare named Spirit, and her newborn colt, Sprite.

First appearance: Andy's Birthday Present, but formally introduced on Drumsticks, a later episode.

• Tom - A young adult who usually serves as Katie and Orbie's babysitter.

First appearance: The Baby Sitter

• Polly - Tom's girlfriend. Like Tom, she likes children very much and loves to play with them. Orbie once had a crush on her. Her appearances are scarce. Her appearance changed between episodes, first she had red, curly hair and white skin, and later she had straight, black hair with a ponytail, and black skin.

First appearance: Puppy Love

• Belkis - A girl that does not speak English. It is unknown from what country she came from, although the name Belkis is of Hebrew origin.

First appearance: Belkis

• Charisse - A black girl who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, she lives with her mother in an apartment. Her appearances are scarce.

First appearance: Charisse

• Miguel - A Latin boy who joins the series by the end of the 4th season as sort of a replacement for Dakota, although his appearances are scarce.

First appearance: Tom's Pool Party

• Charlie and Megan Cobbington - Siblings who are neighbours to Katie and Orbie, along with their parents. Charlie and the parents are written out of the show after season 2, but Megan still makes brief appearances on season 3 before being written out too.

First appearance: The Story Dress

• Greg, Jenny and baby Megan - A young couple and their baby girl who are neighbours of Katie and Orbie's family. They appear only in a few stories. They also have a dog named Bruce.

First appearance: The New Baby

• Kerry - A Caribbean girl who had been Katie's best friend for an unspecified time, and in her only appearance (episode Close to My Heart) she and her parents moved to another town because her father had got a new job. Ironically, despite being referred to as Katie's best friend, she never appeared before and is never seen or mentioned after the aforementioned story. Mrs. Parette gave her and Katie two heart-shaped collars with photos of both, so they could remember their friendship.

A handful of other minor characters have appeared during the series.