Clifford the Big Red Dog

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.

"Clifford the Big Red Dog" is an endearing classic where size matches heart. Norman Bridwell's tale of a gentle giant and his devoted owner Emily Elizabeth teaches friendship and acceptance.

{My thoughts} – I'm sure by now most parents have heard of Clifford the Big Red Dog. I have watched the tv adaptation numerous times with my older children. I have not however, had the opportunity to introduce the babies to it at this point. I may need to after reading this book with my two year old.

I really enjoyed reading this book with my daughter. She seemed to love it just as much. She was happy and liked looking at all the illustrations. I think she found it interesting that Clifford was so much bigger then Emily Elizabeth in the book. Here at home we have two very small dogs, so she is use to dogs that are smaller then people.

This book is a nice beginner reader. It has short sentences on each page. It has simple illustrations show more and it is easy to read. I enjoy reading short books to my babies and this one although it has a lot of pages is a short book. My daughter had no issues with sitting on my lap while I'd read through the book with her. The entire time she'd been pointing at the pictures and I was telling her what was what. This book helped to open up a whole new learning experience for her as we were able to go over opposites and some other words that we have not run across in books yet.

I recommend this book for any younger child. It makes a nice story book. It makes a nice beginner reader. If your child decides they like it maybe consider looking into getting some more of the Clifford the Big Red Dog books that have been released in the past. show less

The book Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell is about a girl named Emily Elizabeth and her big red dog Clifford and the adventures they go on together. The story showcases their daily lives together and how it can create some fun adventures along with some big problems. Due to his size Clifford is very clumsy and can create chaos. For example, he digs up whole trees and chases cars. Even though Clifford creates a lot of chaos and trouble, Emily loves Clifford no matter what. The theme of the story is friendship and kindness. Clifford shows true friendship by being loyal to his owner, Emily. Emily shows kindness by willingly wanting to help Clifford despite the issues he may cause due to his size. Overall, I would recommend this show more book to a younger audience because it can teach young children how to show a friend or classmate the true value of friendship and how to be kind to others. show less

This book was always one of my favorite books and television shows to read and watch in my elementary school. The language was so easy to understand. The way I read this book was through an audio book. I wanted to try the listening aspect of the book and fell in love with it. The plot of the story with talking dogs that have adventures can open the minds of young readers by gaining their attention through unrealistic things. I am absolutely in love with the illustrations in this book. Each has a solid bold color to teach the children who read the book understand what is going on in the plot through only looking at the pictures. It was not jumbled or to chaotic for the children to look at. The bigger picture of this book is for the show more educational and entertainment purposes. The educational part teaches life lesson in an appropriate way. In the book I read, Clifford was teaching one of the other dogs named Cleo how to say please and thank you, which is definitely something children at the elementary age are trying to learn. show less

This is a book that is loved by many. It is the first in a serious about Clifford, a gigantic red dog, and his owner, Emily Elizabeth. The story is simple but heartwarming, and it focuses on the bond between Clifford and Emily as they navigate adventures. The illustrations are bright and colorful, which appeal to younger children. I think Clifford is a great intro to the world of books for young children.

I like this book for three reasons. First, I like the book because the illustrations enhance the story and add interest to the text. Each illustration fills up the entire page with colorful drawings that give expression to the writing. For instance, on one page it says, “We play camping out, and I don’t need a tent.” On this page, Clifford takes up a good majority of the page with his ears propped up by sticks, representing a tent. This illustration helps express the author’s meaning while providing color to increase interest.
Second, I like this book because the writing is engaging and is paced well. On each page, there are only one or two lines. This helps spread out the story in order to slow down the pace of the book. For show more instance, one page says, “Oh, I know he’s not perfect. He has some bad habits.” Then, the following pages contain lines that list Clifford’s bad habits. Thus, the story is paced by the organization of the writing. In addition, the lines are short but they also promote engagement. For instance, in the above example, the two lines raise the question of what Clifford’s bad habits are. Thus, the text engages the reader.
Third, I like this book because of the first person point of view. Emily Elizabeth, the young girl who owns Clifford, narrates the book. Due to the point of view being from Emily’s perspective, she is able to describe everything about Clifford from a young child’s view. Had the book been from another person’s point of view, the book might not have displayed all of the issues that Emily and Clifford face. For instance, Emily states, “It’s not easy to keep Clifford. He eats and drinks a lot.” Emily, being the owner, must take care of Clifford. Therefore, she knows how difficult it can be to keep him full. If the book had been from another person’s point of view, he or she would not have been able to include this aspect.
Overall, the author’s big message is that a person’s dog or pet is special to him or her. It does not matter if that dog is different or takes a lot of effort to care for. Regardless, that pet is important to the person. One is able to see this idea in the way that Emily talks about Clifford, which displays her pride and love. show less