Clifford's Puppy Days
Encyclopedia
Clifford's Puppy Days is an animated television series on PBS Kids
PBS Kids
PBS Kids is the brand for children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States founded in 1993. As with all PBS programming, PBS Kids programming is non-commercial. It is aimed at children ages 2 to 10...

. It is a spin-off of the Clifford the Big Red Dog TV series, and it features Clifford the Big Red Dog
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Clifford the Big Red Dog is an American children's book series first published in 1963. Written by Norman Bridwell, the series helped establish Scholastic Books as a premier publishing company....

, a popular cartoon character. It is set when Clifford was a puppy. Other characters are Clifford's friends, Norville (a bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

), Jorge (a dachshund
Dachshund
The dachshund is a short-legged, long-bodied dog breed belonging to the hound family. The standard size dachshund was bred to scent, chase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, while the miniature dachshund was developed to hunt smaller prey such as rabbits...

), Flo and Zo (two cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...

s), and Daffodil (a rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...

).

Setting

The series focuses on when Clifford is a tiny red puppy, the runt of the litter in a litter of puppies given birth to by the pet dog of Emily Elizabeth's neighbor, Mr. Bradley (who appeared in an episode of the first cartoon series, "Little Clifford"), and after he had been adopted by Emily Elizabeth and before he grew up into a giant red adult dog, forcing the Howards to move to Birdwell Island so Clifford would have plenty of room, so the series shows Clifford and Emily Elizabeth's life and friends before they moved from the city to Birdwell Island and all of their adventures.

Format

The show followed the same format as its predecessor, Clifford the Big Red Dog.
  • The opening theme is followed by the first central story, which is about the dogs, and a problem they face.
  • Speckle Story - Between the first and second story, Emily Elizabeth reads Clifford the Speckle Story, a small 60 seconds (approximately) time filler about a fictional dog (Speckle), and his animal friends.
  • This is followed by another central story, about Emily Elizabeth and her friends.
  • Clifford's Idea to Grow On - Before the credits, another 30 second short takes place called Clifford's Idea to Grow On. The short is basically an animation of an etiquette, a proverb, or basic truth such as "Play Fair", "Help Others", etc, with narration by Emily Elizabeth. This short was called Clifford's Big Idea in the previous series.

Foreign adaptations

In Britain, where the show was only 15 minutes long, the format consists of the central story, followed by Clifford's Idea to Grow On or Speckle Story.

Characters

  • Clifford (as a puppy) - is pet number 2 of Emily Elizabeth an ironically small puppy who is highly playful and always looks forward to meet new friends he loves to play with his toys, eat dog treats, and like Daffodil he loves to take naps. His best friend is Jorge and his sister is Daffodil who cares very deeply for him he can sometimes get scared of some things, and cry a lot, but Daffodil usually is around him and calming him down when he is in those types of emotions.
  • Emily Elizabeth Howard - is the affectionate owner of Clifford and Daffodil. Her best friend is Nina.
  • Daffodil - A Holland Lop
    Holland Lop
    The Holland Lop is a breed of rabbit originating in the Netherlands. The breed was recognized by the Netherlands' Governing Rabbit Council in 1964 and the American Rabbit Breeders' Association in 1979...

    , pet number 1 of Emily Elizabeth, and also Clifford's helper, protector, and sister. She is portrayed to be a very neat rabbit. She also loves to take walks, take naps, eat carrots, and play with Clifford and her toys, she is also seen more in the show than any other character her catch phrase is "sure I'm sure". Clifford can be annoying to her sometimes, but whenever he is crying
    Crying
    Crying is shedding tears as a response to an emotional state in humans. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secretomotor phenomenon characterized by the shedding of tears from the lacrimal apparatus, without any irritation of the ocular structures"...

    , scared
    Scared
    Scared was the first full-length album by California punk rock band Swingin' Utters, released in 1992, following the EP Gives You Strength, released earlier the same year....

    , needs help, or he just feels alone, she responds to him and calms him down or helps him and is always the first to do it. She cares very deeply for Clifford more than any other character, she wears a purple bow on her head.
  • Nina - is the sweet and enthusiastic owner of Jorge. Her best friend is Emily Elizabeth.
  • Evan Thomas Taylor - is one of the best friends of Emily Elizabeth. He loves to play basketball. * Flo and Zo - are kittens who are very playful. They usually love to play with each other or play with their other friends.

They are owned by Mr. Solomon. In the episodes "The Big, Big Present/Hanukkah Plunder Blunder," it is revealed that they and Mr. Solomon are Jewish.
  • Jorge - is a brown dachshund
    Dachshund
    The dachshund is a short-legged, long-bodied dog breed belonging to the hound family. The standard size dachshund was bred to scent, chase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, while the miniature dachshund was developed to hunt smaller prey such as rabbits...

     dog who loves to have fun with his best friend , Clifford. His owner is Nina.
  • Norville - is a problematic bird who always have problems he often calls Clifford "little red" or "pup".
  • Mr. Solomon - is a man who makes books. Flo and Zo are his two pet kittens. In the episodes "The Big, Big Present/Hanukkah Plunder Blunder," it is revealed that he, Flo and Zo are Jewish.
  • The Sidarskis - are a family of mice who lives in the laundromat. and Mrs. Sidarski They also have five playful children, Lucy, Lewis, Sophie, Sid and a new baby.

Cancellation

The show was ultimately short-lived, and hasn't aired ever since final reruns have aired in 2006. However, PBS aired the Halloween episode of Clifford's Puppy Days during October 2011; this serves as the show's final airing ever.

Opening theme

The opening theme, "Love Makes Little Things Grow", was composed by Jared Faber
Jared Faber
Jared Faber is an American musician, composer, producer and multi instrumentalist from Colombian descent. He grew up in New York City where he attended High School of Performing Arts, and later continued his music education at Berklee College of Music, studying jazz arranging and...

 & Emily Kapnek
Emily Kapnek
Emily Kapnek is an actress, television producer and three time Emmy Award nominated writer. She created the animated program As Told by Ginger and executive produced the short-lived television series Emily's Reasons Why Not...

 and performed by Freedom Bremner, a native of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

(See credits).
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