History Literature / FollowMyLeader

* BlindPeopleWearSunglasses: A blind teenager is shown wearing dark glasses on the cover of several editions of the book, as shown [[https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1363980934l/17668489.jpg here]] and [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M0EpuaiRb0w/T9dEUjTk2lI/AAAAAAAACHM/TDLw6_QHFds/s1600/Follow+My+Leader.jpg here]].

* SchmuckBait: If you see a dud firecracker just lying around, why not light it to see what will happen? WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong?

%% * ABoyAndHisX: Dog.
%% Add more context to describe their relationship and what effect it has on them. %%
* BrokenAce: Jimmy.
* CanineCompanion: Take a wild guess.

* HeelFaceTurn: Mike.

* InspirationallyDisadvantaged: {{Averted}}, with the story's [[ShownTheirWork very realistic portrayal]] of blindness.
* KickTheDog: The incident where Mike blinded Jimmy was an accident, but then Mike went on to tease and provoke Jimmy's seeing-eye dog, resulting in a well-deserved biting, but leading to Leader's quarantine and putting the dog at risk for [[ShootTheDog more serious consequences]]. Mitigated by the fact that Mike is just a kid himself, he confesses to Jimmy and turns himself in when he is made aware of the seriousness of the situation, and that there may not have been as much of an awareness of seeing-eye dogs at the time the book was written.

* SchmuckBait: The firecracker.

''Follow My Leader'' is a book by James B. Garfield, about a boy, Jimmy Carter (no, not [[UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter that]] one), who, during an after-school baseball game, is blinded when one of his friends, Mike Adams, is playing with a firecracker and, in a panic, accidentally throws it at Jimmy. Now having to learn to live with his disability, Jimmy learns how to use a white cane, to read and write Braille, and to work with a seeing-eye dog, whom he names Leader.

* ABoyAndHisX: Dog.

* InsistentTerminology / TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: At the training school, all the students, even Jimmy, are referred to as Mr. or Miss (their surname). This is to remind them that they are adults and should expect to be treated as such.

** The author himself is ''almost'' a presidential namesake, as only the middle initial differs.

* InsistentTerminology: At the training school, all the students, even Jimmy, are referred to as Mr. or Miss (their surname). This is to remind them that they are adults and should expect to be treated as such.

* NamesTheSame: As stated in the summary, and should become obvious after the first couple of chapters, this Jimmy Carter is ''not'' the same as the president. In fact, the book was written a full two decades ''before'' the more famous UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter became president.

* RealitySubtext: Carolyn, Jimmy's little sister, is named after the author's daughter.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Sort of. But for a couple of slang terms, the story's setting is revealed not so much by what is present, as what is ''absent'' (i.e. the technology).

* [[Forgiveness]]: A major aesop of the book, and an important step in Jimmy's CharacterDevelopment.

''Follow My Leader'' is a book by James B. Garfield, about a boy, Jimmy Carter (no, not [[JimmyCarter that]] one), who, during an after-school baseball game, is blinded when one of his friends, Mike Adams, is playing with a firecracker and, in a panic, accidentally throws it at Jimmy. Now having to learn to live with his disability, Jimmy learns how to use a white cane, to read and write Braille, and to work with a seeing-eye dog, whom he names Leader.

* NamesTheSame: As stated in the summary, and should become obvious after the first couple of chapters, this Jimmy Carter is ''not'' the same as the president. In fact, the book was written a full two decades ''before'' the more famous JimmyCarter became president.

* ToolALevelInJerkass: Mike over the course of the story.