Clifford the Big Red Dog was created by Norman Bridwell, and first published by Scholastic, Inc. in 1963. Since then, the Clifford picture book has become a mainstay of education. Used in schools, homeschool, headstart programs, and home, Bridwell's Clifford has become one of the most recognized animated characters in the world (and certainly one of the most enduring).

     Norman Bridwell

Who is Clifford?

Clifford was born "in the city" and was the runt of the litter. His small size and weak physical features lead some to think that he would not survive. Emily Elizabeth, a young girl was given this puppy in a last ditch attempt to save his life. Emily loved her little red puppy but was very sad when she learned that he might not survive. She took the little puppy to bed and cuddled with him. Through the miracle of her love, Clifford did not die. In fact, he started growing bigger almost immediately. He grew and grew, and grew even more. He didn't stop growing until he was as big as a house!

Move to Birdwell Island

As it became increasingly clear that Clifford was too big to remain in the city, Emily Elizabeth's family decided to move elsewhere. They moved to Birdwell Island (an intentional play on Bridwell's name), where there was plenty of room for Emily's big pet. On the island, they both continued to learn and grow. Along the way, Clifford meets new friends (normal sized dogs) such as Cleo, T-Bone and Jorge. Clifford picture books are the collection of stories written about their adventures together.

Clifford Authors

The first Clifford author was Norman Bridwell. He is the creator of Clifford. He wrote and illustrated the early books, the pages of which tended to be mostly red, white, and black. Starting in the 1980's, Clifford books took on a new look. Instead of limiting colors in the illustrations, full color illustrations were drawn. The size of the Clifford book was expanded from smaller rectangular sizes, to a larger, square format. This is the format which continues to be used today. The original titles were re-issued in this new format, and continue to be re-issued even today. There are more than a hundred different titles available.

As the years went by, new authors were chosen to supplement Bridwell's work. Today all new Clifford storybooks are authored by other well established authors, but remain true to Bridwell's concepts. 

Clifford's Ten Reinforced Values

Built into every Clifford book (whether picture books or otherwise) are ten core values. These ten values are: 1. Be a Good Friend. 2. Play Fair. 3. Share. 4. Help Others. 5. Be Responsible. 6. Be Kind. 7. Have Respect. 8. Work Together. 9. Be Truthful. 10. Believe in Yourself.

Clifford, the Puppy Days

The newest series of square-shaped Clifford books are the Clifford's Puppy Days books. While in the original book, Clifford's transformation from runt to giant came very quickly, the "puppy" books regress and look at Clifford's life as a puppy in closer detail. The idea caught on, and a new PBS (CBeebies in UK) series of  "Clifford's Puppy Days" animated TV shows came into being. In turn, these episodes have spun off yet more Clifford books. These books are written by a number of well known children's book authors.

Summary

Every Clifford book is designed to help teach kids to read. Clifford books have been evaluated for their appropriateness to certain reading levels. Whether your child's school uses Accelerated Reading (AR), grade or reading level systems, Clifford books have been scrutinized and categorized into the appropriate levels. Some eBay sellers are starting to include this information in their listings, which can be very helpful when buying books for home use.

The methods by which Clifford picture books help kids learn to read is by presenting a story, thus they are accurately described as storybooks.  Through carefully integrated words and illustrations, a tiny portion of Clifford's life is displayed. Through trial and error, problem solving and teamwork, Clifford, Emily Elizabeth and all their friends work through some of life's most common situations. This is not to say that Clifford's response isn't very different from what you'd expect! In the end, though, the story not only teaches kids commonly used words, but the concepts behind those words. In a Clifford book, friendship is not only something one "has", but rather that which one "does"!

Through the infusion of values, sound educational principles, and a whole lot of good old fashioned fun, Clifford picture books are the perfect choice to help young children learn to read while also learning how to become better thinking and feeling human beings.

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