Dog Blog

It was 1963, and Norman Bridwell, the father of an infant daughter, was broke and desperately searching for work as a commercial artist in New York City.

Figuring he had to try everything, Bridwell put together a portfolio of illustrations and began to make the rounds of children’s publishers. He didn’t have any luck, but an editor at Harper & Row looked closely at one sample, which showed a little girl with a huge red dog, and suggested that “there might be a story in this,” Bridwell recounted in a recent interview.

Bridwell headed home and three days later, he had created the story and illustrations for “Clifford, the Big Red Dog.” He dropped it off at Harper & Row, where luck intervened in the form of a woman whose job it was to read unsolicited manuscripts, otherwise known as “the slush pile.” Knowing that Harper & Row wouldn’t be interested in Bridwell’s manuscript, the woman “put it in her purse without telling anyone” and took it to Scholastic, Bridwell said.

Three weeks, later, an editor from Scholastic called and said the firm would like to publish Bridwell’s book about the clumsy but lovable dog and his owner, the spunky Emily Elizabeth. It turned out to be a momentous decision; today there are more than 126 million “Clifford” books in print in 13 languages, and a PBS show starring the big red dog is now in its ninth season.

Clifford’s latest adventure is titled “Clifford the Champion” (Cartwheel/Scholastic, $15.99). In this book, Emily Elizabeth enters her canine companion in “America’s Super Dog” contest. While Clifford’s size causes him problems during the contest, he finds that there are other ways to be a winner.

In a recent telephone interview from his Martha’s Vineyard home, Bridwell, 81, said he attributes much of his success to luck.

“I was just trying to find work,” he said. “I’d been out of work and had a brand new baby daughter who wasn’t sleeping through the night and my mother was visiting from Indiana. It was a very tense time…. I’m so lucky. If that woman hadn’t come in that day (to look at the slush pile), things would have been very different.”

After Bridwell sold the first “Clifford” manuscript, his wife Norma suggested he try to create more stories about the dog and Emily Elizabeth, who was named after their daughter.

“I told her, ‘Don’t count on it. This one is just a fluke. I don’t know if there will ever be another one,’ ” Bridwell said.

Fortunately, Bridwell had plenty of stories to tell about Clifford and Emily Elizabeth and, in 1970, he was making enough money from the series and other children’s books that he was able to give up his other commercial artwork. While Bridwell’s books about “Clifford” have never been embraced by critics, millions of young readers love Bridwell’s cheerful stories and simple artwork.

People often ask Bridwell how he came up with the idea of an enormous red dog like Clifford.

“I just thought it seemed like a good idea for a child to own a dog like this,”he said. “I always liked dogs, and had three or four of them as a kid.”

Asked why kids love Clifford so much, Bridwell replied: “He makes mistakes, he’s clumsy, he’s not perfect. But he’s always forgiven because he means well.” Also, Clifford’s amazing size means that ordinary events, such as a camping trip or visit to the circus, become real adventures. As Bridwell puts it: “Because Clifford is so big and also because he’s a dog, he’s able to do the most unbelievable and imaginative things.”

Bridwell says he’s “always been amazed”at the letters he gets from teacher who tell him how they use his “Clifford “books in their classrooms.

“They base all kinds of lessons on the books, and they find messages in the books that I didn’t even know where there,” said Bridwell, who currently is working on a series of easy readers starring Clifford. “Once, I asked an editor if I should be putting messages in my books, and she said, ‘No, you’re an entertainer. Kids have fun reading your books and if they find a message, that’s fine.’ ”

While Bridwell has found great success with the “Clifford” books, as well as another series called “The Witch Next Door,” he’s also had numerous manuscripts rejected.

“I’ve had 60 books published, and another 120 turned down,” he said.

As a result, when aspiring children’s book authors and illustrators ask Bridwell for his advice in getting started in the field, he tells them: “Write about what makes you feel good. And don’t get discouraged if you get rejected.”

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Karen MacPherson, the children’s/teen librarian at the Takoma Park, Md., Library

When I was in graduate school in Ohio, a colleague called one day and said that two stray dogs had shown up on her front porch. I was instantly skeptical: Two stray dogs? Aren’t stray dogs, by definition, lone wolves? Do stray dogs typically rove in tandem, like Butch and Sundance, Laurel and Hardy, Thelma and Louise?

My friend was in no mood to argue the finer points of canine travel etiquette. She was in a fix: She could only keep one of the dogs. If she couldn’t find a home for the other one, well … Simmering within that ellipsis was the probable fate of the unclaimed pooch.

And thus I acquired Ramsey. Ramsey, the dog of my heart. Ramsey, the dog of a lifetime.

Most people have a dog story just like mine. A dog arrives, makes a little mischief (a chewed-up slipper here, an overturned garbage can there) and before you know it, an existence without the dog seems unthinkable. And yet, of course, the day comes when you must say goodbye. As essayist Thomas Lynch reminds us, “Grief is the tax we pay on our attachments.” Ramsey — a flop-eared, mild-mannered mutt who loved hot dogs and hated thunderstorms and fireworks — is no more, but I will mourn her forever.

I wanted to mention Ramsey so that I’m not accused of being heartless and cold and anti-canine when I say: A lot of dog stories annoy me. Far too many of them are sentimental and silly. They strip dogs of their dignity. They try to make dogs seem human — as if being human is the highest of compliments. It’s not, actually. In my book, it borders on insult.

Dog books are always popular, but this year may mark some kind of tipping point.

Inspired perhaps by the inexplicable success of the mawkish and insipid book and movie “Marley & Me,” a slew of dog books are romping into bookstores even as I type, doubtless knocking things over and leaving muddy paw prints. They include the recent paperback publication of the best-selling Garth Stein novel “The Art of Racing in the Rain” (2008) and a non-fiction book called “One Nation Under Dog: Adventures in the New World of Prozac-Popping Puppies, Dog-Park Politics and Organic Pet Food” ( Henry Holt) by Michael Schaffer, one of those books that tells us what we already know — Americans love their pets! — but does so in a fresh, entertaining way.

In the next month or so, you can choose from “Soul of a Dog: Reflections on the Spirits of the Animals of Bedlam Farm” (Villard) by Jon Katz, “Happy Dog: Caring for Your Dog’s Body, Mind and Spirit” (New American Library) by Billy Rafferty and Jill Cahr, and “A Year of Cats and Dogs” (Permanent Press), a novel by Highland Park resident Margaret Hawkins.

No two dogs, and no two dog books, are alike. I loved “Soul of a Dog,” got some useful tips from “Happy Dog,” and ended up relishing “A Year of Cats and Dogs,” a quirky, sparkling novel that I intend to reread right away.

Conversely, I couldn’t wait to be rid of “The Art of Racing in the Rain.”

I suppose there’s nothing inherently wrong with a story narrated by a dog, but any book featuring the lines, “Sure, I’m stuffed into a dog’s body, but that’s just the shell. It’s what’s inside that’s important. The soul. And my soul is very human,” instantly sets my teeth on edge. No thoughtful dog desires a human soul. Where do some people get the crazy idea, promulgated by novels like this one, that animals yearn to be human? Dogs get along just fine, thanks very much, without being able to speak or use credit cards or surf the Internet.

Katz, on the other hand, respects dogs for what they are: dogs. He grants the same sweet favor to sheep, cows, cats and chickens.

Like his previous books, “Soul of a Dog” is a lyrical yet unsentimental memoir about the bond between people and animals. While exploring the question of whether animals possess souls, Katz recounts daily life on his farm in upstate New York.

You will admire and respect his dog Rose, but not because she’s cute or cuddly — or, heaven forbid, chatty. She’s a working dog. “It’s deep in her bloodlines, the result of generations of service,” Katz writes.

Dogs inspire a protective instinct in us, a heightened sense of responsibility. That helps explain why the outcry against NFL quarterback Michael Vick, onetime proprietor of a dogfighting operation, was so loud and so passionate, and why last week’s news that he has joined the Philadelphia Eagles drew protests, even though Vick served prison time for his transgression and seems contrite.

We seem to need dog books almost as much as we need dogs, and we need dogs a lot.

Ramsey’s name, by the way, came from a favorite childhood book: “Remarkable Ramsey, the Talking Dog” (1967) by Barbara Rinkhoff. This tome marks the single exception to my rule that forbids yammering canines. And its persistence in my memory matches, I am sure, a book in your past featuring a pooch as protagonist, a book that has stuck with you through life’s storms and rainbows.

There’s a simple test to see if a dog book has achieved greatness: Its spirit must live up to the creature it describes, to the dog it tries to make immortal. It must be worthy of my Ramsey, and it must be worthy of yours too.

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Julia Keller
CULTURAL CRITIC

Go to the dogs this Father’s Day!

Here is a great suggestion from Bloomsbury on hosting a successful THE DAY THE DOG DRESSED LIKE DAD story time event

Have a terrific story time!

To purchase the book visit Chapters/Indigo.

- Invite families (especially dads and their kids) to a special father/child storyhour event.

- Read The Day the Dog Dressed Like Dad aloud.

- Warm up the crowd with some classic dog-inspired tunes like “Bingo” and“How much is that Doggy in the Window.”

- Encourage each child to share a story about his or her father or explain to thegroup what his or her father does for a living.

- Help young readers make their own Father’s Day cards for their dads.

- Decorate cookies shaped like dog bones or neckties.

And most importantly, have fun!

Games and Contest Ideas

- Can you dress like Dad?

- Dad is out for the day and someone needs to take on his responsibilities…and in order to “beDad” for the day, one needs to look the part!

- Divide the children into two teams and have a“dress like Dad” relay. You will need two boxes of adult clothing such as hats, shoes,neckties, jackets, pants, and shirts. (Make sure the quantity of items in each box matches!).

- The first group to have every child put on and take off all the adult clothing, sit in a straightline, and call out “woof” is the winner!

- Can your pet dress like Dad?

- Have a “dress your dog like dad” costume party by inviting kids to bring in their pets. Youcould give out a copy of The Day the Dog Dressed Like Dad to the child and pet with the most original costume.

HAPPY FATHER”S DAY from MUTTNIK!

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