Clifford the Big Red Dog

Clifford the Big Red Dog is an enduring American children's book series that began being published in 1963. more...

Written by Norman Bridwell, they helped establish Scholastic Books as a premier publishing company.

Clifford was the runt of the litter, and was chosen by a city kid named Emily Elizabeth Howard as her birthday present. No one expected Clifford to grow, but Emily Elizabeth's love for her puppy changed Clifford dramatically. Before long, he was over 25 feet tall, forcing the Howard family to leave the city and move to the open spaces of Birdwell Island. Birdwell is an anagram of author Norman Bridwell's last name.

Scholastic Studios produced a successful television adaptation shown on PBS, aired from 2000 to 2003, but still reruns currently.

Clifford the Big Red Dog was one of several PBS Kids shows designed to teach children a number of life lessons. Two 11-minute stories made up each half-hour cartoon. Usually one story featured Clifford and his canine friends, T-Bone and Cleo among them; the other story would focus on Emily Elizabeth and friends her age. One principle was kept religiously: the dogs only talked when people were not around. And they only barked when people were around.

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