Clifford the Big Red Dog (book series)

Clifford the Big Red Dog is an American children's book series. It is about a giant red dog named Clifford. It was first published in 1963 and was written by Norman Bridwell. Clifford is Scholastic's official mascot.
Characters
Clifford: A 2-year-old male red dog whose appearance, disposition and behavior are based on a giant dog. His size is inconsistent: While he is often shown being about 25 feet (7.5 m) tall from paws to head, Clifford can appear far larger. The character's name is based on the imaginary childhood friend of creator Norman Bridwell's wife, Norma Bridwell. Bridwell originally wanted to name the dog "Tiny". His wife persuaded him that "Clifford" was better. Clifford's pet owner is Emily Elizabeth. Clifford has a mother, two brothers, and two sisters, all normal-sized dogs. Clifford was originally the runt of the litter, seemingly fated to be small and sick, but grew to an enormous size apparently due to Emily Elizabeth's love and care. Clifford's character was created when a Harper & Row editor advised Bridwell to write a story to go along with one of his pictures. Bridwell recalls she picked out his sketch of a baby girl with a horse-sized bloodhound, and casually said, "There might be a story in this" because there always was one.
Emily Elizabeth: Clifford's owner and human friend, an 8-year-old girl. She is frequently portrayed riding him like a horse. She was named for creator Norman Bridwell's daughter and based on the imaginary adventures of Bridwell's wife. The TV series adaptation gives her a surname, Emily Elizabeth Howard, and changes the background, with her receiving Clifford as a surprise present on her 6th birthday instead of picking her out as a Christmas present.
List of books
Adaptations
Videos
Karl-Lorimar Home Video released the video Clifford's Sing Along Adventure around 1986. Warner Home Video re-released it in the mid-1990s.
In 1988, Scholastic Studios, Film Roman, Nelvana Limited, TMS Entertainment, Wang Film Productions, and Family Home Entertainment released Clifford's Fun With, a videotape series with a theme song composed by Phillip Namanworth and Benjamin Goldstein. The episodes on the release are: "The ABC Message Service", "Clifford's Birthday Surprise", "The Scavenger Hunt", "The Rhyme Cat Rescue", "Clifford Goes to Hollywood", and "The Pet Show". Musician Brent Titcomb was the voice of Clifford, and actress Alyson Court was the voice of Emily Elizabeth. In the late 1990s, a television station in Spain aired the direct-to-video series for a short period of time.
Television
Scholastic Media produced a 65-episode adaptation shown on PBS Kids. It aired from September 2000 to February 2003. Clifford was voiced by actor John Ritter. Emily Elizabeth was voiced by Grey DeLisle. There was also a 39-episode prequel series that took place during Clifford's puppyhood. It aired from September 2003 to February 2006. Lara Jill Miller was the voice of Young Clifford. During that time, a movie released in theaters served as the show's finale. It was released in February 2004. No new episodes were released after John Ritter's death. In December 2019, a new series was released. It premiered on December 6, 2019 for Amazon Prime Video and December 7, 2019 on PBS Kids. Adam Sanders voices Clifford and Hannah Levinson voices Emily Elizabeth.