Norman Bridwell, creator of Clifford The Big Red Dog, turned his love of drawing into a career. In 1962, Bridwell put together a portfolio of colorful drawings and visited fifteen children’s book publishers, all of whom turned him down.
One editor told Bridwell his art alone was not good enough and no one would ask him to illustrate a book; however, the editor suggested he write a story about his sketch of a little girl and a horsbloodhound.
A Star Is Born
Bridwell made the bloodhound even bigger and more of an “all-around” dog, like the dog he dreamed of riding and sharing adventures with as a little boy. He wanted to call the dog “Tiny,” but his wife Norma thought “Tiny” was boring. Norma suggested “Clifford,” the name of her childhood imaginary friend. Bridwell named the little girl after his daughter, Emily Elizabeth. Three weeks after delivering his drawings and story to Scholastic, the phone rang—Scholastic wanted to publish Clifford The Big Red Dog!
A Well Read Dog…Who’s Also Red!
Norman Bridwell created the first Clifford The Big Red Dog book in 1962. Today, the best-selling book series consists of more than 160 Clifford titles and 126 million books in print.
A TV Star Everyone Looks Up To
Since its launch in 2000, Clifford The Big Red Dog has been a top-rated television show on PBS KIDS®. The show airs as often as 3,400 times per week!
Oh Where, Oh Where, Can My Little Pup Be…
The new television series, CLIFFORD’S PUPPY DAYS, premiered on PBS KIDS on Labor Day 2003. The show was the most successful PBS KIDS launch since Clifford The Big Red Dog debuted in 2000.
The exhibition will be on view through September 1, 2008. -- www.strongmuseum.org
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