Clifford for President

Clifford the Big Red Dog

by Acton Figueroa, Tom La Padula (Illustrator), Norman Bridwell (Creator)

Read along with Clifford in a new BIG RED READER!

Clifford is running for President . . . of the Birdwell Island dog park! Emily Elizabeth needs to put up a candidate for a class project, so of course she nominates the Big Red Dog who's always a big winner!

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Dogs, Storytime, Animals, Pets

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Emily Elizabeth learns about elections in school, so she decides to have one to determine a president for the local park. She of course nominates Clifford, but her rival, Jetta, nominates her dog, Mac. When it comes to campaigning, Clifford and Emily Elizabeth go high -- leading by example -- while Jetta and Mac go low with negative posters about Clifford. The results and the lack of hurt feelings make it too unrealistic, even for a book with a giant red dog.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't sure who was going to win until I got to the end.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clifford for President is an early reader that we were given by a friend passing down some books her children no longer needed. AR Book Finder lists it as a Level 2.7. Emily Elizabeth's class learned about the presidential election. The next day Emily Elizabeth and Clifford go for a walk in the park and notice that the trash cans are overflowing. Clifford picks up some trash and throws it into the trash can. Emily Elizabeth says that Clifford should be the president of the park because he would make it clean as a whistle. She decides to go home and make some campaign posters. Jetta sees the posters and wants her dog, Mac, to be president because "he's the best dog." Jetta and Emily Elizabeth manage the campaigns for their dogs, and the kids take a vote. Before that, the kids see Clifford actually cleaning up the park. So who do you think wins? The best dog? Or the best dog for the job?

My adult brain thinks, "Isn't there a parks and recreation department over the park? I don't think anyone can just become president of the park." But I know, I know. This is all fiction indended to teach the child a lesson about elections and not just voting because you like someone, but voting for the person you think will serve the office the best. I thought it taught the concept well enough on a basic level, even if my adult brain sees flaws that a child would never notice.

I don't think Clifford for President is going to win any awards, but if you're looking for level 2 readers for your child, then it checks a lot of my boxes. I appreciate that there's a lesson to learn, and it isn't just a fun story. So often, early readers have no purpose besides helping the child get reading fluency. There's no reason why we can't do both at the same time. Clifford for President gets 4 Stars. Have you or your child read Clifford for President? What did you think? Let me know!

[Christine Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Election Storytime. Clifford runs for park president. Great story about how elections work in terms children can understand.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book for preschoolers about how elections work, like maybe a classroom president or something. This instance in the book it was park president to keep the park clean.

[Skylar Burris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is meant to teach young children about elections and to teach that mud-slinging is wrong. However, it's overly simplistic (even for kids) and promotes the "everyone deserves a ribbon and there can be no losers in any competition" mentality. It doesn't translate well as a microcosm of the American election process and could lead a kid to believe that, for instance, in an election between Obama and McCain, if Obama wins, that means McCain should be Vice President.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story that talks about elections and how the candidates campaign in true Clifford style. Good for encouraging children to learn more about our government and the representatives we vote into office to serve us. It's a great book to read during a Presidential election.

Our girls enjoy reading books in the Clifford series and we will certainly look for more books like this at our local library.

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book to a 2 year old. I thought that it gave a very simple description of the various terms of an election. I also thought that this book taught good lessons about being a gracious winner as well as being a good loser too. It was written in an understandable format and I enjoyed the storyline.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kids on Birdwell Island are learning about the voting process in school. When they see the park needs cleaned up they decide to have an election and vote someone for president to make sure the park gets the attention it deserves. Looks at the process of campaigning and of other candidates bashing one another.

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The boy I tutor read this. It's a broad, very broad explanation on the presidency. But still very hard for kids to understand, but Clifford the big read dog was one of the shows I used to watch as a kid so it was fun seeing the characters again.

[Kati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would be a good book to read to little kids around election time.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

his politics were so off

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

If it's Clifford, it's a winner.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly but funny entry in the big red dog series. My son laughed at this story of the silly big dog who is campaigning to be president..

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

k-2

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clifford runs for President of the Birdwell Island Dog Park but Mac runs against Clifford. Simple story

[Wasif · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book to read Out loud.Helps you to became a good reader.

[Rowe Northwestern]

i like about the book is that clifford cleaning the trash from the park.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute book to read with your child around election time. It helps them understand how an election work from selecting candidates, running a campaign, to actually voting. I thought it was clever how the other dog running for President of the Dog Park was blue! haha. It also showed mud slinging and how we don't want to run campaigns built on bringing down the other candidate (though that is what a lot of US elections have been recently).

I'll definitely read this with my daughter again for the next election - she'll also be older and able to understand the concept better.