His creator, 84-year-old Norman Bridwell, took questions from a few dozen first- and second-graders during a webcast beamed live into more than 5,000 classrooms around the country from the party held outside the downtown building as tourists snapped photos from atop open-air double-decker buses stuck in traffic.

And Bridwell's real-life daughter, the all-grown-up Emily Elizabeth, spoke to reporters of her special place in publishing history as the inspiration for the perky, blond girl who shares her life — and 90 books worth of adventures — with the gawky, big-hearted Clifford.

She was just a year old when her father, a struggling artist from Indiana, and his wife, aptly named Norma, were trying to eke out a living in New York. It wasn't going well when Norma suggested he try his hand at illustrating children's books.

Norma came up with the name Clifford, based on an imaginary friend she had as a girl.

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