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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
By the time ninth grade begins, Ishmael Leseur knows it won't be long before Barry Bagsley, the class bully, says, "Ishmael? What kind of w'ussy-crap name is that?” Ishmael's perfected the art of making himself virtually invisible. But all that changes when James Scobie joins the class. Unlike Ishmael, James has no sense of fear—he claims it was removed during an operation.
Now nothing will stop James and Ishmael from taking on bullies, bugs, and Moby Dick, in the toughest, weirdest, most embarrassingly awful . . . and the best year of their lives.' (Publication summary)
Reading Australia
This work has Reading Australia teaching resources.
Unit Suitable For
AC: Year 8 (NSW Stage 4)
Themes
acceptance, bullying, friendship, hope, identity, Language, Power, power of language, resilience, self-acceptance
General Capabilities
Critical and creative thinking, Ethical understanding, Literacy, Personal and social
Notes
-
Included in the 2007 White Ravens Catalogue compiled by the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
[Essay] : Don’t Call Me Ishmael
2013
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Reading Australia 2013-;'It’s not easy having a weird name, as many teenagers with foreign or experimental parents can attest – or unusual looks, or a stutter, or being too fat or too skinny, or shy, or any other characteristic that marks a child out from a very narrow mainstream. In a school where Class A bullies rule, the results can be devastating. It’s not inevitable: I never copped it for having a foreign name, though I went to an overwhelmingly Anglo-Saxon school. In fact, two kids at the top of the social pecking order there carried a Greek and an Italian name. But where bullying does occur, it can potentially leave scars for life.' (Introduction)
-
[Review] Don't Call Me Ishmael!
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 24 no. 4 2010; (p. 52)
— Review of Don't Call Me Ishmael! 2006 single work novel -
Sweet Success for Tale of School Revenge
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 3 March 2008; (p. 12) -
Author Wins with Peace Harmony - and Comedy
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 1 December 2007; (p. 11) -
The Children's Book Council of Australia Judges' Report 2007
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , August vol. 51 no. 3 2007; (p. 5-12)
-
[Review] Don't Call Me Ishmael!
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , March vol. 85 no. 8 2006; (p. 24)
— Review of Don't Call Me Ishmael! 2006 single work novel -
Kids' Lit
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 29-30 April 2006; (p. 14)
— Review of Shadows in a Mirror 1996 selected work poetry ; Don't Call Me Ishmael! 2006 single work novel ; His Name in Fire 2006 single work novel ; The Dreamkeeper : A Letter from Robert Ingpen to His Granddaughter Alice Elizabeth 1995 single work picture book ; Shadows in the Mirror 2006 single work novel -
This Week's Selections
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 13 May 2006; (p. 10)
— Review of Don't Call Me Ishmael! 2006 single work novel -
This Sporting Life
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 284 2006; (p. 59-60)
— Review of Leaper Lane: The Making of a Rugby League Legend 2006 single work children's fiction ; Barry Noodles and DaKillerBs 2005 single work children's fiction ; Jasper Zammit : Soccer Legend 2005- series - author children's fiction ; Fire in My Soul 2006 single work novel ; Offbeat 2006 single work children's fiction ; On the Mat 2006 single work novel ; Don't Call Me Ishmael! 2006 single work novel -
Bullying
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , May vol. 50 no. 2 2006; (p. 11)
— Review of On the Mat 2006 single work novel ; Don't Call Me Ishmael! 2006 single work novel -
Taking a Punt on This List
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 21 - 22 April 2007; (p. 26) -
The Children's Book Council of Australia Judges' Report 2007
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , August vol. 51 no. 3 2007; (p. 5-12) -
Author Wins with Peace Harmony - and Comedy
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 1 December 2007; (p. 11) -
Sweet Success for Tale of School Revenge
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 3 March 2008; (p. 12) -
[Essay] : Don’t Call Me Ishmael
2013
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Reading Australia 2013-;'It’s not easy having a weird name, as many teenagers with foreign or experimental parents can attest – or unusual looks, or a stutter, or being too fat or too skinny, or shy, or any other characteristic that marks a child out from a very narrow mainstream. In a school where Class A bullies rule, the results can be devastating. It’s not inevitable: I never copped it for having a foreign name, though I went to an overwhelmingly Anglo-Saxon school. In fact, two kids at the top of the social pecking order there carried a Greek and an Italian name. But where bullying does occur, it can potentially leave scars for life.' (Introduction)
Awards
- 2016 shortlisted REAL Awards — Fiction for Years 7-9
- 2008 winner Festival Awards for Literature (SA) Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature South Australian Literary Awards — Children's Literature Award
- 2007 winner Children's Peace Literature Award
- 2007 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature
- 2007 shortlisted CBCA Book of the Year Awards — Book of the Year: Older Readers