Famous Cool Dogs: Clifford!
Clifford The Big Red Dog
Everybody’s favorite big red dog.
Look what love can do! Clifford, the beloved TV and book character, was the runt of his litter, but Emily Elizabeth Howard chose him anyway. She loved him so much that he grew…and grew…and GREW! 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, by the way, is the name of Clifford’s creator — Norman Birdwell. The first Clifford The Big Red Dog book debuted in 1962. We’re all waiting impatiently now for Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, but it was Clifford who put Scholastic Books on the map back in 1962.
In the Clifford stories he has adventures with his canine friends Cleo, a Poodle, and T-Bone, who looks a lot like a Pit Bull. (Clifford has been variously described as a Saint Bernard and a Great Dane. Everyone with Setters will tell you he must be an Irish Setter.) Other stories focus on Emily Elizabeth and her friends.
Scholastic Studios produced a successful television adaptation shown on PBS Kids, which aired from 2000 to 2003. John Ritter was the voice of Clifford; Grey DeLisle (Mandy, “The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy”; Frankie, “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends”; and others) was the voice of Emily Elizabeth. There have been other television adaptations and a movie made of Clifford’s stories. Now Clifford’s Puppy Days continues the legacy, while the original stories can still be seen as part of Miss Lori and Hooper’s lineup on PBS.
Clifford has been teaching children to read and helping them to learn important life lessons for over 40 years. He’s one of the most popular dogs in America. That’s pretty good for the runt of the litter.
