Clifford Makes a Friend

by Norman Bridwell (Illustrator)

Originally published in November 1998, Clifford Makes a Friend is now a Scholastic Reader!

Everyone's favorite Big Red Dog is back again as a part of the new Scholastic Reader series!

The boy sees Clifford, Clifford sees the boy, and they're friends at first sight! The boy and the dog run, jump, and cartwheel their way through the day in a story that young children can read themselves!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Friendship, Dogs

32 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1998

About the author

Norman Bridwell was an American author and cartoonist, best-known for the Clifford the Big Red Dog series of children's books. Bridwell attended John Herron School of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana. He lived on Martha's Vineyard, MA, where he wrote an average of two books a year.

Reviews

[Rod Brown]

I think this is the first Norman Bridwell book I have read that does not begin with some variation on, "Hello, I'm Emily Elizabeth, and this is my dog, Clifford." Indeed, Emily Elizabeth isn't even in here. And, oh my, it sort of seems like Clifford might be auditioning a little boy replacement for her. Fortunately, the boy seems to be a one-time fling.

This is a reader written with less than two dozen words. Not much entertainment here unless you're making fun of it as you go.

[Jake]

This is a GREAT first reader book!!! We're talking: The boy sees the dog, the dog sees the boy. Very cute and simple.

[Rena Sherwood]

Well, this is a strange entry in the Clifford Universe. Emily Elizabeth is nowhere to be seen. Clifford's name does not appear in the text. The unnamed boy does look a bit like Emily Elizabeth, so I wondered if this is a cousin or half-brother or something.

There is also a long page filled with small print describing how the book should be used -- including tips to parents on how to read a book to a small child. I've never seen anything like that before. When I was a kid, everyone knew how to read aloud to others. It was like drinking water, blinking, or breathing. You didn't have to be taught -- you just did it.

I noticed that the edition of this book on the Internet Archive has been liberally scribbled in, presumably by a small child. Hmmm, didn't see that in the recommendations list by the Reading Specialist at Scholastic.

This book basically consists of Clifford imitating whatever the unnamed boy does. Clifford does a lot of imitating in many other Clifford books, such as Clifford's Kitten. That might be why he's so charming. That, and his clumsiness. And his unique looks. And his sense of humor.

[McKenzie Richardson]

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-CycleThis is a Level 1 reader. It is very simple and repetitive, good for kids learning to read. There are tons of sight words and easy words to sound out. But there isn't really any story. There are good examples of action labels (see, run, jump), but no real plot.I was more confused with the lack of detail. Who is the boy? Where is Emily Elizabeth?Simple first reader, but just okay.

[Sue]

Clifford and the boy do things together. With few words in this book it is a great book for children who have a few words under their belt but need some practice and maybe a couple new words to learn. The pictures in this book are typical Clifford the Big Red Dog style and we love it.

[Melinda Christensen]

I think Clifford books are fabulous for teaching children how to read, with the simple language and bold, colorful pictures of a boy and a dog. Most toddlers would be interested in how to make friends with a dog.

[Juliette]

Used in a speech session focusing on action verbs and using the present progressive (-ing). Paired with action verb boom cards.

[Teresa]

Great book for early readers

[Karin]

Classic Clifford. Great early reader.

[Cami]

Me gustó que Clifford hacía siempre lo que hace el niño. Era fácil de leer.

[Adali Cruz]

This book was a great way to help kids make friends and how to be a nice friend to someone else. But I mean who doesn’t love Clifford in general.

The trait is: “idea”
The level: 5-7years old
Lexile measure: 130L
ATOS: 0.4

[Erica]

Text-to-Teaching

This is a good book to have if you have a younger class. This book is good for studnets who are in prek- kindergarten. I think this is a good book for teaching because it had some sight words for students to use. This book can also teach the students some of the primary colors. The pictures in the book allows the students to tell the storey without even knowing the words.

[Cws]

JEAR1-Bri

[Elizabeth Root]

How can you not love these books. Clifford makes reading fun. The short sentences and colorful pictures are exciting for students to complete.

[Joshua's Mom]

Greats for clifford lovers and early readers. The boy does look a little strange in some of the pictures for some reason.

[Jamie]

Good first Clifford book. If you want to read Clifford books with your child, this is a good one to start with. Otherwise it's just an alright story.

[Katie Morrison]

Great book for kindergarten or first grade because it teaches about the lesson of friendship. This book is also a great book because it is set up like the rest of the books in the Clifford series.

[Theresa]

good early reader, using texet to relate to the television show, a cute childhood story book.

[Kristen]

Cute early reader book for Clifford lovers. Using short sentences and easy words, this book follows Clifford and he meets and becomes friends with a little boy.

This was a little short to read as a bedtime book to my daughter - but she loves all things Clifford right now, so I will take anything that is not a repeat at this point! haha.

This will be a good beginning reader book though due to the easy and short sentences. The illustrations really help the child figure out what is going on as well.