Clifford the Big Red Dog

Clifford the Big Red Dog

by Norman Bridwell

It only takes a little to be BIG!

Meet Clifford & Emily Elizabeth in the original Clifford book! Clifford is big. Clifford is red. But most of all, Clifford knows how to be a good friend!

Like other dogs, Clifford sometimes chases cars; unlike other dogs, Clifford catches them. Like other dogs, Clifford digs in the garden; but while other dogs may dig up a few flowers, Clifford can dig up a whole tree. Also like other dogs, Clifford chases cats—big cats, like lions! When Clifford messes up, he messes up big time!

This is how it all began—in 1963, Norman Bridwell published his very first Clifford book, and kids have loved Clifford ever since. He's an adorable dog whose well-meaning bumblings have great kid-appeal. Clifford is Emily Elizabeth's, and everyone's, favorite big red dog!

Orifinally published in 1963, Clifford the Big Red Dog launched a popular children's book series, now with more than ninety million books in print. Clifford books, with their understated texts, slapstick illustrations, and tounge-in-cheek humor, have entertained generations of children all around the world.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Animals, Classics, Dogs, Friendship

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Norman 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.

Reviews

[Julie G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you ever get over the original despair of learning that a big, red dog like Clifford was unattainable?

[♥ℂĦℝΪՖƬΪℕÅ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ★'s EVERY TIME!


When I was little I loved EVERYTHING Clifford! I remember wishing I could have a dog as big as he was :) You cannot go wrong with any of the books in the Clifford the Big Red Dog series. I have read pretty much ALL of the book's, but there is no way I'm gonna go through and rate all of them individually. There are just too many for that. These stories are super sweet and teach about friendship. The books are addicting and impossible not to fall in love with Clifford and all of his pals. Clifford is such a BIG adorable goofy dog and it's no wonder why this is a classic!

[Jem · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has all of the ingredients of the ideal book for me:

1) It is about dogs

2) The dog is RED

3) There is a long family history of loving this book. Behold, my dad:





So what happened? Why didn't I loooove it? I think those three factors just resulted in the perfect storm. And I am easily prone to over-stimulation. Maybe I just need to wait until I'm a bit older. Maybe I just need to wait until I'm sitting on the can.

[Mya · Rating 3 out of 5]

For kids, this book was pretty entertaining. However, for an adult, it is not worth the read.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 1969 printing of Clifford has been in my family since I was two years old. Clifford is fugly cute in a lot of the pictures, but his mischievous spirit and Emily Elizabeth's love carries the day.

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A life-long favourite.

[Madelyn (cardans version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

NOTHING TO SAY JUST CLIFFORD

[Tyler Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a new pet peeve. Childrens pictures book I can only borrow through the library in audio book format. I wanna see the pictures. lol. I might have to just buy Clifford books. I remember loving them as a child!

[Rahul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Clifford , Do you ?

[Colin Thorp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clifford the Big Red Dog may look like a simple children’s story, but it reflects how society handles difference and responsibility. Clifford’s huge size represents anything that doesn’t fit neatly into existing systems, revealing how communities are often strained by what is unusual or inconvenient. His growth comes from love, suggesting that care and attention create real consequences and obligations. Rather than forcing Clifford to change, the community adapts to him, offering a hopeful vision of empathy over exclusion and reminding us that a healthy society is measured by how it treats what takes up space.

[Katherine Cowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic kids book, and a must read. This book is all about expectations--Clifford does all the same things that a normal dog does, but on a different scale, with different consequences (for example, he likes to chase cats, which means he scares a lion at the zoo). The constant reversal/twisting of expectations is what makes the book delightful, and makes me not mind reading it aloud again and again. (The "trouble" Clifford makes is something that is maintained in all the spin-off books, but you really need to go back to this original book for pure Cliffordness.)

If you're following my picture book reviews, you might notice that my daughter loves dogs, so Clifford is a big hit in our house. I've yet to give in to showing my daughter the Clifford TV show, but she does have a Clifford sippy cup. (The ethics of the commercialization of kids' stories through products is somewhat debatable, but I don't mind doing a little bit for my daughter--it helps bring the stories to life.)

[Rachel Aranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved learning to read with these books. Clifford the Big Red dog helped me love dogs even more.

[Sana🐱💝😂 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did anyone forget about their favorite big red dog Clifford. If you never read it when you were a toddler, then I ask you, Why. I loved reading Clifford books. 👍

[georgia · Rating 2 out of 5]

clifford needs some training smh

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for my Halloween costume. How could not you not like an enormous red dog?

“You can keep all your small dogs. You can keep all your black, white, brown, and spotted dogs. I’ll keep Clifford...Wouldn’t you?”

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book...easy read. Compelling story about a very large animal-I think it was a dog and its owner Emily Elizabeth. I did't know a dog could grow so big. Does anyone know what type of dog Clifford is? One problem I have with the story is it never explains how Emily cleans up after him- that would be one big pile of stuff!

[Hákon Gunnarsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that's what I call a big dog. It's the size of a house. I'm just glad I don't have to feed him, but walking him would be interesting. All in all, I think it's a nice funny and children's book.

[Guadalupe Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clifford the big red dog by Bridwell Norman
Genre: Comedy, Humor, Reading level: P-2 grade Format: good
General fiction, animal stories



Clifford the big red dog is a book about a girl named Elizabeth and her dog named Clifford. Elizabeth talks about how she has a big dog compared to the other people around her neighborhood and how she enjoys playing with Clifford. The book is also about Clifford doing tricks and how the dog isn’t perfect in how he chases cars and cats. As I was reading the book I enjoyed the picture illustrations by how colorful and detailed the illustrations are. Also because I thought the story was nice and interesting with Clifford the big red dog. This book can be used in the classroom by creating a lesson where the students can create a pet of their choice and make the pet big with their own story. This will help students be more creative and us their own imagination to make their own personal pet story to share with the class.

[Steve Holden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Clifford! I've always been a softie for dogs and dog books. I loved the Clifford series as a child! I owned them all, and read them so much! I loved the idea of a big dog. And red? Get out of here! It had such an impact that when I was so fortunate as an older child to get to pick out a dog and breed from my parents - my final choice was between an Irish Setter (red) or a Newfoundland (big). I went big with the Newfoundland, and have never gone back from the breed. I'm not nearly as cool as Emily Elizabeth was, but I sure do love my dogs. Early experiences with books when they correlate with our lives and dreams, can certainly stay with us for a long time. I often think of this book when enjoying time with my current large dog, Buddy. He's definitely a big, gentle friend!

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sure did love this big red dog growing up.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Famu favorite. Even the older kids sat down to listen to me read this. Clifford books are good read out loud stories.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Other kids I know have dogs, too.
Some are big dogs.
And some are red dogs.
But I have the biggest, reddest dog on our street."

A very cute book about a very big and very red dog. A dog that would make Carmen Sandiego proud.

Not to mention that Clifford will always go above and beyond the assigned task given to him... even if he does take things a wee bit too literally.

That being said I do think I have more nostalgia for the PBS show about Clifford than the actual book. It was all right and it was adorable, but to be completely honest, unlike Clifford the extraordinary big dog, this book was just... average.

[Carlos Subramanian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kind of a hard read, but thankful that I stuck with it, definitely worth it.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daugther loved this ;(((((

[Auntie Raye-Raye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should not have borrowed the audiobook version. It's a cute story. It probably works a lot better in its regular book form.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this is a character and story I can get around. I don’t want to read a book with such complexity and confusion that the author is the only one who understands it and we spend time in english class pretending we know what they meant with annotations.

Clifford is a book for the common man, visually appealing, and if your eyesight is not great you won’t lose value! they ensured clifford was big, like really big, hard to miss him. The fact I can read it in one go is priceless, and not to mention the plot. From the jump I felt attached to clifford like he was really my dog.

Great book, would recommend

[Ellie Slama · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE CLIFFORD! WHO COULDN'T LOVE HIM? HE IS A BIG RED TALKING DOG!

[David Blaylock · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot just didn't hold my attention.

[Adam Mann]

too many characters

[Darinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet and cute story about friendship. Clifford is a fun, lovable, and goofy big red dog.