Excellent book! The kids really enjoyed it for read aloud. Used in Sonlight 1
I remember reading this book as a kid and wanted to read it again as an adult. It was a great look into what having a guide dog is all about, and how difficult it can be to lose one's eyesight, particularly t a young age. Now, reading it with the eyes of an adult, it seems very dated. It was written in the fifties and is filled with exclamations of "golly" and "gee whiz!" Interestingly enough, this is a semi-autobiographical story and author James Garfield changed his last name so that he would not have the same name as the former president. The name he chose to use instead for his young main character? Jimmy Carter. Funny, huh?
While this book is clearly set "in the past", I still find it timeless. It was very interesting for me to read about this young boy's struggles to cope with being blind, and the things and clever tricks he had to learn. Having to deal with his feelings (actually, that goes for both boys) made this worth reading. I reached for the book again after meeting someone who raises puppies to be leader dogs!
This is an excellent book introducing children to what life is like as a newly blind child. The story follows the journey that Jimmy Carter takes as he becomes adjusts to being blind and as he learns to forgive his friend who caused the blindness by accident. I used this as a read aloud in my homeschooling and my 7 and 10yo enjoyed the book very much.
A young boy is blinded by firecrackers and must learn to read Braille and use a guide dog. Good story.
Wonderful, still-relevant story of Jimmy, a blind adolescent who learns to cope with the new permanence of his condition.
