Norman Bridwell was born on February 15, 1928 in Kokomo, Indiana. He attended John Hennon Art Institute from 1945 until 1949 and went on to Cooper Union Art School, 1952-1953. He is an American author and cartoonist best known for the Clifford the Big Red Dog series of children's books. After graduating from Cooper, Bridwell remained in New York, working first as a messenger for a lettering company and then as an artist designer for Raxon Fabrics Company (1951-1953). After that, he spent three years with H. D. Rose and Company as an artist, before becoming a freelance artist in 1956. In 1963, Bridwell published his first children's book, "Zany Zoo," as well as his first Clifford book,… "Clifford the Big Red Dog." Bridwell illustrates all of his books himself. Bridwell's other successful books include The Witch Next Door, and A Tiny Family. There are over 126 million copies of his books in print in 13 languages.