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Clifford the Big Red Dog
Clifford's First Halloween
Join everyone's favorite small red puppy as he gets into mischief at the Halloween party! Now with a die cut cover that reveals a pumpkin-shaped glitter gel pack.
Many Halloweens ago, Clifford was just a tiny red puppy who got into lots of trouble.
This Halloween classic is being reissued just in time for Halloween in an all-new format with a die cut cover that holds a pumpkin-shaped glitter gel pack!
Many Halloweens ago, Clifford was just a tiny red puppy who got into lots of trouble.
This Halloween classic is being reissued just in time for Halloween in an all-new format with a die cut cover that holds a pumpkin-shaped glitter gel pack!
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
25 people are currently reading
383 people want to read
About the author
Norman Bridwell
355 books233 followersNorman Bridwell was an American author and cartoonist, best-known for the Clifford the Big Red Dog series of children's books. Bridwell attended John Herron School of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana. He lived on Martha's Vineyard, MA, where he wrote an average of two books a year.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
September 19, 2018
What an adorable Halloween story. I loved Clifford when I was growing up, and it was fun revisiting him now that I’m grown. Kids will love this introduction to autumn and costumes and parties. Very fun stuff!
October 13, 2022
SO CUTE !!!
January 29, 2024
Read this riveting tale to Ari 🎃❣️
November 6, 2025
3 Stars
Fills my heart to read this. I remember reading it when I was little.
Fills my heart to read this. I remember reading it when I was little.
November 18, 2025
I loved Clifford
Such a cute fun Halloween story. Clifford has always been my go to as a child.. and I love it still even as an adult.
Such a cute fun Halloween story. Clifford has always been my go to as a child.. and I love it still even as an adult.
November 2, 2016
Omg for some reason, I thought clifford’s owner was a boy! When I saw the little blond girl through the cat costume, I remembered!
I remember her pink dress, yellow hair. She looks like a little doll!
I know I’ve read the Clifford’s first Christmas when I was younger, and I sort of remember it going back in time to when he was a puppy, too. Do all the books do that? Because that would get old.
Clifford is so cute through that clown mask! ‘He was not a happy clown.’ Haha! Reminds me of my dog.
Her nose looks so funny! Her eyes are like black pits.
Her as a fairy, and Clifford eating his donut halo is so cute. But wow, she looks like she’s actually flying!
Him as a ghost when he’s a puppy is so cute, and them hauling their Halloween buckets full of goodies.
She’s trick-or-treating in a hallway??
Clifford climbing the pumpkin, and his little face pressed to the nose. When she blows the noisemaker and it surprises him&he flips over.
Her friends are so cute! The pirate, witch, cowboy and other boy(not sure what he is).
The party is in a room in this same hallway. Do they live in an apartment? The haunted house is under a homemade tent over chairs. That makes me so nostalgic for my childhood! Me, my sister and brother used to do that! We’d spend the night under there.
This one isn’t haunted though. There’s only a skeleton, spiders and bats.
It’s funny how his tail is between the skeleton’s fingers.
A story about a haunted hand creeping around the house. Come on!
I don’t like how ‘what was it?’ was on the same page as the drawing of Clifford in the glove, so we knew what it was immediately. How can they not see clifford’s body on the bottom?? He’s walking towards them& they all look scared. Even the mom.
Clifford looks so cute falling out of the glove.
All of a sudden Clifford is grown up. This book just skips too much time.
I’m disappointed in the illusrations. The characters are adorable, but the pages need more background. Many of them are just plain white, and I want to see more of the house, and to have a bunch of Halloween decorations out. Actually, I really thought he’d be trick-or-treating. It would be nice if they were outside. Or at a real haunted house.
It was a cute story, but it needed more detail in the drawings. I don’t like when they skimp out on drawing things. I also don’t like the location of the story. It wasn’t much of a story because they didn’t go anywhere in their costumes or do anything special. We didn’t get to hear a full haunted story at the end. &what are the chances of the mom telling a story about a hand, of all things, &then there’s gloves lying around that Clifford gets into. I didn’t like the sudden change to him being adult size either.
Because they just stayed inside and didn't go anywhere, it wasn't much of a story, so I felt like just giving it 2 stars. I'm giving it 3 because of the humorous things in here, and how cute the drawings were.
I remember her pink dress, yellow hair. She looks like a little doll!
I know I’ve read the Clifford’s first Christmas when I was younger, and I sort of remember it going back in time to when he was a puppy, too. Do all the books do that? Because that would get old.
Clifford is so cute through that clown mask! ‘He was not a happy clown.’ Haha! Reminds me of my dog.
Her nose looks so funny! Her eyes are like black pits.
Her as a fairy, and Clifford eating his donut halo is so cute. But wow, she looks like she’s actually flying!
Him as a ghost when he’s a puppy is so cute, and them hauling their Halloween buckets full of goodies.
She’s trick-or-treating in a hallway??
Clifford climbing the pumpkin, and his little face pressed to the nose. When she blows the noisemaker and it surprises him&he flips over.
Her friends are so cute! The pirate, witch, cowboy and other boy(not sure what he is).
The party is in a room in this same hallway. Do they live in an apartment? The haunted house is under a homemade tent over chairs. That makes me so nostalgic for my childhood! Me, my sister and brother used to do that! We’d spend the night under there.
This one isn’t haunted though. There’s only a skeleton, spiders and bats.
It’s funny how his tail is between the skeleton’s fingers.
A story about a haunted hand creeping around the house. Come on!
I don’t like how ‘what was it?’ was on the same page as the drawing of Clifford in the glove, so we knew what it was immediately. How can they not see clifford’s body on the bottom?? He’s walking towards them& they all look scared. Even the mom.
Clifford looks so cute falling out of the glove.
All of a sudden Clifford is grown up. This book just skips too much time.
I’m disappointed in the illusrations. The characters are adorable, but the pages need more background. Many of them are just plain white, and I want to see more of the house, and to have a bunch of Halloween decorations out. Actually, I really thought he’d be trick-or-treating. It would be nice if they were outside. Or at a real haunted house.
It was a cute story, but it needed more detail in the drawings. I don’t like when they skimp out on drawing things. I also don’t like the location of the story. It wasn’t much of a story because they didn’t go anywhere in their costumes or do anything special. We didn’t get to hear a full haunted story at the end. &what are the chances of the mom telling a story about a hand, of all things, &then there’s gloves lying around that Clifford gets into. I didn’t like the sudden change to him being adult size either.
Because they just stayed inside and didn't go anywhere, it wasn't much of a story, so I felt like just giving it 2 stars. I'm giving it 3 because of the humorous things in here, and how cute the drawings were.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2016
This was such a disappointment to the series. I have his First Christmas that I read as a kid and really like that one. Now I'm wondering if it was that good.
It didn't make any sense to start the book off with Clifford as a giant. It's his first Halloween so he wouldn't be that big, he's a puppy so he hasn't gotten big yet. She's looking back on the holiday but it would have been better had it been live while he was a puppy.
I didn't like the artwork. The cover looks really graphic, but you open it up and it's like drawings, that old-school style of illustration that is very simple. The girl's hair looked funny. Her nose looked like a tear drop. It was cute when she said Clifford was not a happy clown, when he had he oversized clown mask on.
I thought it was weird that she tied a donut to his costume as a halo. It was odd that she was holding a UNICEF box. That's a detail for adults, not kids. It was strange that when trick or treating she went to her neighbors, and she seemed to be in an apartment complex. I thought she lived in a home, not an apartment. She should have trick or treated on the street. You can also tell an adult came up with this, because no kid would consider an apple a good treat. She should have just had candy in her bucket. The expression on the pumpkin's face could have been better. The triangle nose was upside down and the mouth was a really odd shape.
It was cute when Clifford climbed the pumpkin and fell in. But he said they had a pumpkin that barked and stuck out its tongue and the illustration only showed Clifford barking. His tongue should have been out.
I thought a noisemaker was an odd thing to have. I don't see those except at parties. And I thought it was wrong that she blew it at the dog and he fell over.
Clifford was cute getting a bath in a pot, and she used a toothbrush. The haunted house was really disappointing. It was a sheet draped over chairs, and I know kids do that because I did it as a kid, but I wouldn't do that on Halloween. I'd go trick or treating outside. That's what I expected them to do, not have a makeshift party. The scary story wasn't very creative. It was about a haunted hand that moved around the house and Clifford got into the glove, and his shadow appeared on the wall and scared them all. Then it shows her upending the glove and Clifford falls out onto the floor. She could have let him out gently, not let him down onto the floor. There were lines coming out from underneath to show the impact. The party was very tame, they ate cupcakes and had something to drink. And Clifford was actually eating his own cupcake! Could you imagine?! What was he thinking? First Clifford is licking a candy apple and then he's eating a cupcake. I didn't like that it ended with Clifford all grown up because it jolted me out of the story when he was a puppy.
It didn't make any sense to start the book off with Clifford as a giant. It's his first Halloween so he wouldn't be that big, he's a puppy so he hasn't gotten big yet. She's looking back on the holiday but it would have been better had it been live while he was a puppy.
I didn't like the artwork. The cover looks really graphic, but you open it up and it's like drawings, that old-school style of illustration that is very simple. The girl's hair looked funny. Her nose looked like a tear drop. It was cute when she said Clifford was not a happy clown, when he had he oversized clown mask on.
I thought it was weird that she tied a donut to his costume as a halo. It was odd that she was holding a UNICEF box. That's a detail for adults, not kids. It was strange that when trick or treating she went to her neighbors, and she seemed to be in an apartment complex. I thought she lived in a home, not an apartment. She should have trick or treated on the street. You can also tell an adult came up with this, because no kid would consider an apple a good treat. She should have just had candy in her bucket. The expression on the pumpkin's face could have been better. The triangle nose was upside down and the mouth was a really odd shape.
It was cute when Clifford climbed the pumpkin and fell in. But he said they had a pumpkin that barked and stuck out its tongue and the illustration only showed Clifford barking. His tongue should have been out.
I thought a noisemaker was an odd thing to have. I don't see those except at parties. And I thought it was wrong that she blew it at the dog and he fell over.
Clifford was cute getting a bath in a pot, and she used a toothbrush. The haunted house was really disappointing. It was a sheet draped over chairs, and I know kids do that because I did it as a kid, but I wouldn't do that on Halloween. I'd go trick or treating outside. That's what I expected them to do, not have a makeshift party. The scary story wasn't very creative. It was about a haunted hand that moved around the house and Clifford got into the glove, and his shadow appeared on the wall and scared them all. Then it shows her upending the glove and Clifford falls out onto the floor. She could have let him out gently, not let him down onto the floor. There were lines coming out from underneath to show the impact. The party was very tame, they ate cupcakes and had something to drink. And Clifford was actually eating his own cupcake! Could you imagine?! What was he thinking? First Clifford is licking a candy apple and then he's eating a cupcake. I didn't like that it ended with Clifford all grown up because it jolted me out of the story when he was a puppy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2022
Norman Bridwell's simple stories are always better than I anticipate, filled with nice unexpected moments of original humor, and always lined with the affection that Emily Elizabeth feels for her beloved pet dog, who grew from a runt destined to die into the biggest puppy on earth simply because she loved him.
This look at Clifford's first Halloween is charming, and created with significant skill on the part of Norman Bridwell, as always. I would give at least one and a half stars to Clifford's First Halloween.
This look at Clifford's first Halloween is charming, and created with significant skill on the part of Norman Bridwell, as always. I would give at least one and a half stars to Clifford's First Halloween.
November 2, 2008
I got this for the week leading up to Halloween to get my 2 1/2 y/o into the spirit, or at least introduce the concept to him of Halloween. It's a pretty cute book. I'm never impressed by the illustrations in the Clifford books, though. They always seem very dated. Maybe I'm spoiled by the animated PBS show. This was kind of fun, but not a great story. We didn't keep it more than a week.
November 28, 2022
I love Clifford the big red dog books growing up and now they have when Clifford was a puppy. Sign me up. I had to check out this sweet book of Clifford's first Halloween. Cassie absolutely loved this book. She begged to keep the book in her bed after we finished it so she can "reread" it. The illustrations in this book are bright and colorful which is similar to those of when Clifford is bigger. Also Clifford is still up to his antics in this book which tends to send kids in a fit of giggles. This book is really easy to read-aloud. I recommend you to check this out.
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September 6, 2019In this book, Clifford and Emily Elizabeth are remembering Clifford's first Halloween. When they are struggling to find the right costume for Clifford but nothing is able to fit! They are finally able to find the right costume when Emily Elizabeth throws a sheet over Clifford to make him a ghost. I think this book would be a great introduction to the purpose of Halloween for younger age kids. A good one for the library!
June 22, 2020
This was a very cute book. We used to watch some Clifford episodes on PBS, and my daughter picked this book out at the library.
This story had short, simple sentences, and my daughter really enjoyed this book. She asked questions about all of the costumes, and ran from the picture of the skeleton decoration.
This was a fun book to read to her, and she really loved it! There isn’t an educational or interactive element to this book, but it’s still a lot of fun.
This story had short, simple sentences, and my daughter really enjoyed this book. She asked questions about all of the costumes, and ran from the picture of the skeleton decoration.
This was a fun book to read to her, and she really loved it! There isn’t an educational or interactive element to this book, but it’s still a lot of fun.
September 5, 2017
I am a huge fan of Clifford the Big Red Dog. This book is a bit of reminiscing about Clifford's first Halloween with Emily Elizabeth. He is big now, but on his first Halloween the first few costumes were too big for the little red puppy. Emily Elizabeth finally made a tiny ghost costume for him and he enjoyed all of the festivities with her and the neighborhood kids.
June 29, 2022
Even Clifford the Small Red Puppy in his adorable ghost costume cannot offset the sight of Emily Elizabeth in her cat Halloween costume triggering a traumatic flashback to Rebel Wilson and the rest of the CGI-ed cast from the Cats musical movie adaptation. Brrrr. The mischief and pratfalls just ring hollow when your brain is providing "Memories" as a soundtrack.
January 1, 2019
Von Mom bought this for the Lil Baroness. It's only getting 3 stars because Lil Baroness really liked it....pretty much a rehash of bits of the original Clifford Halloween book with puppy cuteness randomness.
October 19, 2021
Very cute story of Clifford and his first Halloween. I love the showing of curiosity and understanding. It was also fun to talk about pumpkins, and carving them. And how you can make a costume if you really wanted.
October 28, 2025
this is a cute easy to read Halloween story starring everyone's favorite Big Red Dog Clifford and the antics he gets into on his very first Halloween from eating halos to getting caught in a glove to scaring the kids at story time fun and fast laugh out loud silliness for children of all ages
October 22, 2017
Good LORD pupper Clifford is a cutie pie. And I don't even like dogs
December 26, 2017
Clifford and his friend are experieng their first halloween togther. so cute to see clifford small. lot's of traditiona; halloween events but simple to underrstand. toddler and up
October 17, 2018
Cute, simple story about dressing up and celebrating on halloween.
October 26, 2018
The kids have enjoyed watching Clifford for some time, so they enjoyed this simple book about Clifford's first Halloween.
December 13, 2018
Baby Clifford is my favorite thing.
October 6, 2019
A cute little book about Clifford that the kids liked.
October 22, 2020
This Clifford story is adorable. My students enjoyed it, too. Great for fans of Clifford or cute little puppies.
November 9, 2020
A book in the Clifford the Big Red Dog series. Cute Halloween story.
January 12, 2021
I like books that see Clifford as a puppy and make kids feel good about their size. This was no exception.
July 16, 2021
This is another adorable book in the Clifford as a puppy variety, which runs through the basic traditions of Halloween as well as Clifford getting into some silly accidental mischief.
October 18, 2021
Sweet Halloween board book! I like how it introduces common Halloween themes and practices.
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November 4, 20212 copies available
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews