Children's books at the time repeated a small set of vocabulary words over and over. It is now one of the most popular books for children who are learning to read, making Clifford an internationally beloved character among preschoolers and parents.Ĭlifford the Big Red Dog became a prominent series around the time that other children's books, such as Dick and Jane, were beginning to be phased out by teachers in classrooms. Clifford the Big Red Dog was published soon after its submission to Scholastic and became a phenomenal success. He then, over the course of a weekend, turned his drawing of a little girl and a large red dog into a complete children's book. After presenting his portfolio to over a dozen publishers in 1962, he followed the advice of Susan Hirschman, an editor at Harper & Row, who suggested that he write a story to go along with his illustrations. Bridwell was a struggling commercial artist in New York City, and he hoped to expand his career by making illustrations for children's books.
These materials capture changes that began in the 1960s in how to engage and teach children to read, both inside and outside the classroom.Ĭlifford the Big Red Dog was the manifestation of Bridwell's childhood desire for a dog the size of a horse.
Following Bridwell's death, his family generously donated over 90 objects related to Clifford to the Division of Home and Community Life's Education Collection, which chronicles the history of education in the United States from the colonial era to the present day. When Scholastic first published Clifford the Big Red Dog in 1963, the book's creator, Norman Bridwell (1928–2014), had no idea his humongous-and huggable-red hound would capture the hearts of children and grow to become a worldwide symbol of children's literacy.
0 kommentar(er)
