Norman Bridwell always has Emily Elizabeth doing something fun with her big red dog Clifford. I read Clifford's First School Day to my nieces and nephews today. The children laughed and thought it would be fun to bring a dog to school for show-and-tell. After we read the book we discussed what Clifford did and made a drawing to show what are first day of school was or is going to be like. The book shared what Emily's day was like at school and how Clifford was very mischievous and got in the paint, water, flour, and sand. No one was ever angry or mean to Clifford when he got in to these things. I feel this shows a good relationship between the teacher and the children. Clifford might have been mischievous but he was still part of the class and treated with respect. We all make mistakes and get into things but it’s not the end of the world. I think a lot of adults are to high stung and expect children not to mess up. No one is perfect and we all make mistakes. We make mistakes to learn from and build our character. The book also can help children with their first day of school by showing them what they might expect to do. Some children are very uneasy about the first day of school, if this is read in class it might help them feel a little better. We can all learn from Clifford’s adventures.
