Happy Birthday, Clifford!

There are few more beloved children's characters than Clifford the Big Red Dog, created by Norman Bridwell, 50 years ago. Everyone knows Clifford, dogs and celebrations, right? So what better theme for a storytime than Clifford's 50th birthday?

I donned the Clifford ears that Scholastic was handing out at ALA in June, found a pattern to allow the kids to create their own out of red construction paper, grabbed my Clifford puppet,and a stack of Clifford books. I modified a number of dog rhymes, songs, and finger plays to customize them for Clifford which only added to the fun, and had a great story time!

Here are the books we read:
Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Clifford, the big red dog, is probably one of the most loved and recognizable children's book character. He is lovable, and like them, has trouble fitting in as he makes his way through life. His person, Emily Elizabeth, loves him and the Clifford books subtly send positive messages about caring, loyalty, friendship, and responsibility. In this first book, Emily, introduces the reader to her dog, Clifford, and traces the ups and downs of life raising a jumbo size dog. Even though Clifford is fifty, the stories have a timelessness that still interest today's children.

Clifford's Puppy Days by Norman Bridwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was the second story in a book of four classic Clifford stories, and so we read about Clifford's beginning. He was a tiny puppy, and Emily Elizabeth was constantly worried about him getting lost or getting injured by her toys while they played. This is one book where Clifford's age was showing - at one point, Emily Elizabeth talks about Clifford loving the Merry-Go-Round she made for him, which is a record spinning on a record player. All the parents smiled when I asked my toddlers if they knew what the item was...and laughed at the kids' response which was a CD Player...In this book he also has an adventure in a bakery, get's bathed by a St. Bernard and then becomes the enormous grown-up dog we know and love today.

Clifford The Champion by Norman Bridwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
When Emily Elizabeth enters Clifford into a dog competition, the results are humorous and somewhat predictable. Clifford is paired up with another dog, who runs the obstacle course and other trials perfectly - while Clifford, because he is so big, keeps getting stuck or breaking parts of the elements. However when it comes to the big splash competition, Clifford scores well, and almost wins when he saves his competitor who is unable to swim. My audience loved the funny pictures and the fact that Clifford always does his best and tries so hard to fit in to the world which is much too small for him.

Clifford Keeps Cool by Norman Bridwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Here in San Diego, we have been experiencing unusually hot and humid weather, so I felt like I had to include this particular Clifford title in Storytime today. It is the height of summer and Clifford tries all the usual methods to stay cool, but at his size they don't always work quite right. For instance, watching a dog riding in a car enjoying the cool breeze, Clifford climbs on top of a large truck - which cools him off...until the truck passes under a freeway overpass. He empties swimming pools and fountains, until finally, Emily Elizabeth finds the perfect cooling spot for him: under a waterfall in a park. Not only is he finally happy, but he manages to save a boat load of kids in a canoe who were about to plunge over the falls. You gotta love this dog!

Clifford's Birthday Party by Norman Bridwell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is another charming book about Clifford's life and his struggles to fit in to this miniature world. The kids enjoyed this story, and there were many laughs to be had, especially when all the guests at the party dream about what Clifford would look like after a trip to the groomers. I was bothered by the way the story centered on birthday presents - at first none of the guests would come, because they felt that their gifts were inadequate for their friend. The bulk of the story features each guest and his/her gift and how grateful Clifford is to receive each one...even though they are all somehow wrong (a hand knit sweater that only fits over part of his nose, for example). In the end, his family arrives to surprise him, and the message about friends and family being the most important gift comes through...but only in the last few pages.

Although it was a day off for me at the public library, I didn't want the kids there to miss out on the fun! Last Saturday I made a birthday card for all the kids to sign and prepared the materials so that they could also make Clifford ears. I also put all of our Clifford books out on display. I passed the "official" ears to the librarian who would be working in children's area today, and put out a "Clifford's Birthday Party" board game for kids to play as they wandered in. Happy Birthday, dear friend, Clifford!

Going to the Dogs!

Today's story time had a dog theme. There are terrific animations available for powerpoint slides (see Heather's Animations for example) and there are so many great children's books featuring dogs that the most difficult thing about planning this session was limiting the books, songs, rhymes that we shared. We did a "Five Little Puppies" finger play, performed a couple of action rhymes "Call your Dog" and this one:

Some Dogs Bark
Some dogs bark,
Some dogs growl,
Some dogs yip
Some dogs howl,
And some dogs...
...Just wag their tail.

Where the kids supply the appropriate noise. It was a big hit. They also loved our dog version of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes:

Head, cold nose, floppy ears, floppy ears.
Head, cold nose, floppy ears, floppy ears.
Tail that wags, wet tongue and furry toes.
Head, cold nose, floppy ears, floppy ears.

I made a flannelboard of Dogs Colorful Day by Emma Dodd. Although a pattern was available in Storytime Magic by Kathy MacMillan and Christine Kirker, I simply traced "Dog" from the cover and cut out appropriate spots:



Here are the books we read:


What Puppies Do Best by Laura Joffe Numeroff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With simple text and adorable illustrations this book covers everything that Puppies do - the really good (wake you up in the morning, climb onto your bed and give you a kiss) and the really bad (dig holes in the yard, track mud into the house and make a big mess). There are plenty of cute kids and even more cute puppies in this book. This is a small book, so it would be difficult to read in front of a large audience, because you definitely want to take in the detail of the illustrations - especially the last two pages, devoted to what puppies do best of all: give you lots and lots of love.


Good Boy, Fergus! by David Shannon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As one of my family's favorite children's book, I looked forward to reading this one at a story time but wondered if it would go over as well with an audience. It did! All the kids fell in love with Fergus, a happy-go-lucky West Highland terrier, who is the star of this book. As Fergus progresses through his day the refrain "Good boy, Fergus!" is repeated over and over again...in spite of the fact that Fergus rarely ever minds. The illustrations are bright and big and filled with humor and the text is simple and very funny. Kids and parents were both laughing out loud at story time especially when they see his new "hairstyle" after a car ride. This book was a BIG hit with my story time audience.

See Me Run by Paul Meisel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The text of this book is very simple and repetitive as it is really designed to be a first reader. (The opening page: "See me run. I run and run.") The real beauty of this book - as a story time read aloud - are the fabulous illustrations and the giant surprise the dogs receive when they, "dig and dig and dig and dig." One dog leads and amazing pack of a dozen dogs on an adventure through a meadow, mud puddle, and joyous bath in a river (this is the only book out of four where the dogs enjoyed a bath!) The dogs then dig up an amazing treasure, that makes them "run again!" We had lively discussions and counting sessions during the sharing of this book, so the kids didn't seem to notice any limitations of the text. Great fun.

Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book has everything you could want in a story time read: A lovable star, animal sounds, humor in abundance and a mother who experiences frustration, worry and joy because of her puppy. The story opens with George's mother asking him to bark. When he says, "Meow" she corrects him and has him try again and again - each attempt finds a new animal sound coming out of George's mouth, and mom becoming increasingly frustrated. Every mom at story time today smiled and nodded at being able to relate to George's poor old mom. She takes George to the vet, who manages to find the source of George's problems and George finally does bark...everyone is happy. There is also a nice twist at the very end, that flew over the toddler heads but made the moms laugh. Definitely a story time winner!

Doggone Dogs by Karen Beaumont
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Bouncy rhyming text and joyous illustrations make this book, about a ten dogs who take a wild romp through a park, a marvelous story time read. My story time audience loved this book (in spite of having heard three and a flannelboard story already!) They were counting dogs and pointing out their favorites. They also make a point of noticing the dogs' owner follow the dogs, leashes in hand, in a futile chase. Everyone does eventually make it home, including the slightly-worse-for-wear owner (still in his pajamas!) clearly exhausted after such a fun day out.