Booking Across the USA - Norman Bridwell

I'm so excited to be part of Booking Across the USA this year & get to help celebrate children's authors from across the country!

I am from the great state of Indiana. And do you know what celebrated children's author is also from Indiana? Here's a hint....

Yeah......so, my hint may have been a little too easy. Did you guess?

Yep-- the creator of the beloved Clifford the Big Red Dog was born & raised right here in Indiana. Did you know that he never really intended to be a children's author? He loved to draw as a child & teen, and originally wanted to be an illustrator. He got rejection over & over.....and one editor even told him his drawings were awful and she couldn't imagine anyone wanting HIM to illustrate a book!

Eventually, one editor told him to think about writing a story around his drawings......and she pointed to his drawing of a baby girl & a horse-sized dog. I guess you could say that was the birth of Clifford

the Big Red Dog! The very first Clifford book was published in 1963.....today, there are over 80 titles in the Clifford series.

I admire Bridwell as wonderful children's book author, but even more so for his perseverence. His experience with rejection and the way he dealt with it is a great example of intestinal fortitude and perseverance.

 My kiddos are going to be reading lots of Clifford the Red Dog books this week. I'd love for them to learn more about the author, and to learn about how he never gave up on his goal and kept trying. I created a Respond to Text with Proof reading activity for them to use. To grab a copy for your class, just click on the pic below & download from my dropbox!

I'll leave you with a little bit of Norman Bridwell wisdom.....