Norman Bridwell, Clifford creator, dead at 86

Norman Bridwell, creator of the popular Clifford the Big Red Dog series of children's books turned into a PBS TV show, has died.

Scholastic, his longtime publisher, says Birdwell died Friday in Oak Bluffs, Mass. He lived in Edgartown, Mass.

Starting in 1963 with Clifford, the Big Red Dog, Bridwell wrote and illustrated more than 40 Clifford books, from Clifford and the Grouchy Neighbors to Clifford Goes to Hollywood. More than 120 million copies have sold worldwide, along with cartoons, a feature film, a musical, stuffed animals, key chains, posters and stickers. Images of Clifford have appeared everywhere from museums to the White House.

Bridwell is survived by his wife, Norma, their daughter, Emily Elizabeth, son, Timothy, and three grandchildren.