Clifford the Big Red Dog is an American children 's book series about a giant red dog named Clifford. It was first published in 1963 and was written by Norman Bridwell (1928 -- 2014). Bridwell himself had a dog he based the stories on, however his pet canine was neither big nor red. The series helped establish Scholastic as a premier publishing company, and Clifford himself is Scholastic 's official mascot.
when was clifford the big red dog made
first published in 1963