Clifford the Big Red Dog

For the television show see Clifford the Big Red Dog (TV series).

Clifford the Big Red Dog is an eponymously titled American children's book series about an extremely large red dog named Clifford. It was first published in 1963 and was written by Norman Bridwell. The series helped establish Scholastic Books as a premier publishing company^{[citation needed]}, and Clifford himself is Scholastic's official mascot.

Clifford was the runt of a litter of puppies and was chosen by a city child named Emily Elizabeth as her birthday present. No one expected him to grow, but Emily's love for her tiny red puppy changed him dramatically. Before long, he was over 25 feet (7.6 m) tall, forcing the Howard family to leave the city and move to the open spaces of Birdwell Island. He met friends there including, Cleo, Max, and T-Bone.

The characters

The White House 2003 Christmas decoration of Clifford the Big Red Dog

• Clifford: a male red dog whose appearance, disposition, and behavior are based on a giant "all-around" dog. Friendly, outgoing and helpful. He sometimes gets into trouble because of his size or is tempted into trouble by his friends and those he meets. His size, like giants in medieval legends, is inconsistent—he is often shown as being about 25 feet tall from paws to head, but can appear far larger: in one episode he removes the top of the lighthouse and swims out with it to guide the ferry through the fog to the dock. The character's name is based on the imaginary childhood friend of creator Norman Bridwell's wife. His owner is Emily Elizabeth, to whom he is devoted. He has a mother, two brothers, and two sisters. His character was created when an editor at Harper & Row advised Bridwell to write a story to go along with one of his pictures. She picked out his sketch of a baby girl and a horse-sized bloodhound and casually said, "There might be a story in this," Bridwell remembers.
• Emily Elizabeth: Clifford's owner. A friendly, curious, and helpful eight year-old girl. She is frequently portrayed riding on his back. The best skater on the island, and also very good at soccer. She was named for creator Norman Bridwell's daughter and based on the imaginary adventures of Bridwell's wife.

List of Books

Title	Year	Notes
Clifford and the Big Parade	1998
Clifford and the Big Storm	1995
Clifford and the Grouchy Neighbors	1985
Clifford and the Halloween Parade	1999
Clifford at the Circus	1985
Clifford Barks!	2000
Clifford Counts 1 2 3	1998
Clifford Counts Bubbles	1992
Clifford Follows His Nose	1992
Clifford Gets a Job	1965
Clifford Goes to Dog School	2002
Clifford Goes to Hollywood	1980	Reissued in 2010 under the title: Clifford is a Star
Clifford Goes to Washington	2005
Clifford Grows Up	1999
Clifford I Love You	1994	Pop-Up
Clifford Keeps Cool	1998
Clifford Makes a Friend	1998
Clifford Makes the Team	2011
Clifford Takes a Trip	1966
Clifford the Champion	2009
Clifford the Firehouse Dog	1994
Clifford to the Rescue	2000
Clifford Visits the Hospital	2000
Clifford, the Big Red Dog	1963
Clifford, the Small Red Puppy	1972
Clifford, We Love You	1991
Clifford: Where is the Big Red Doggie?	1998
Clifford's ABC	1983
Clifford's Animal Sounds	1991
Clifford's Bathtime	1991
Clifford's Bedtime	1991
Clifford's Best Friend: A Story about Emily Elizabeth	1998
Clifford's Big Book of Things to Know	1999
Clifford's Big Red Reader	2001
Clifford's Birthday Party	1988
Clifford's Busy Week	2002
Clifford's Hanukkah	1984
Clifford's Class Trip	2003
Clifford's Day with Dad	2003
Clifford's Family	1984
Clifford's First Autumn	1997
Clifford's First Christmas	1994
Clifford's First Easter	1995
Clifford's First Halloween	1995
Clifford's First School Day	1999
Clifford's First Sleepover	2004
Clifford's First Snow Day	1998
Clifford's First Valentine's Day	1997
Clifford's Furry Friends	2001
Clifford's Good Deeds	1985
Clifford's Halloween	1966
Clifford's Happy Days: A Pop-Up Book	1990
Clifford's Happy Easter	1994
Clifford's Happy Mother's Day	2001
Clifford's Kitten	1984
Clifford's Manners	1987
Clifford's Neighborhood: Lots to Learn All Around Town	2002
Clifford's Noisy Day	1992
Clifford's Opposites	2000
Clifford's Pals	1985	Reissued in 2010 under the title: Clifford's Best Pals
Clifford's Peek-And-Seek Animal Riddles	1997
Clifford's Peekaboo	1991
Clifford's Puppy Days	1989
Clifford's Puppy Fun: A Lift-The-Flap Board Book With Stickers	2001
Clifford's Riddles	1974
Clifford's Schoolhouse	2000
Clifford's Sports Day	1996
Clifford's Spring Clean-Up	1997
Clifford's Thanksgiving Visit	1993
Clifford's Tricks	1969
Clifford's Valentines	2001
Clifford's Word Book	1990
Count on Clifford	1985
Oops, Clifford!	1998
Where is Clifford?	1989

Adaptations

Clifford The Big Red Dog with Laura Bush and many children at the White House Easter Egg Roll, 2007.

In 1988,Scholastic Studios, Mendelson-Melendez Productions, Nelvana, Wang Film Productions, and Family Home Entertainment released "Clifford's Fun With...", a videotape series with the theme song by Phillip Namanworth and Benjamin Goldstein. Brent Titcomb voiced Clifford, but sounded almost similar to Disney's Goofy. Lorimar Productions released the video "Clifford's Sing Along Adventure" around that same time. Warner Home Video rereleased it in the mid-1990s.

Film

In May 2012, it was reported that Universal Pictures & Illumination Entertainment, the companies behind Despicable Me and Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, will make a live-action/animated feature film based on the book. Matt Lopez had been hired to write the script, while Chris Meledandri and Deborah Forte will produce the film.

Television

Further information: Clifford the Big Red Dog (TV series)

Scholastic Studios produced a television adaptation shown on PBS Kids, which aired from 2000 to 2003.

Video Games

Original Series

• Clifford's Reading
• Clifford's Thinking Games

Modern Series

• Clifford's Learning Activities
• Clifford's Music
• Clifford's Phonics
• Clifford's Big Puzzle Game (A Wendy's Kids' Meal DVD game, available for a limited time only)

See also

• Younger versions of cartoon characters
• Clifford's Puppy Days
• Clifford's Really Big Movie
• Clifford the Big Red Dog (TV series)

References

^ Media and Culture, 5th ed., Richard Campbell, Christopher R. Martin and Bettina Fabos.

External links

• Official site of book series
• http://pbskids.org/clifford/index-brd-alt.html
• Clifford the Big Red Dog at TV.com
• Good article about Clifford's creation