''Wolf by the Ears'' is a young adult novel by

Ann Rinaldi Ann Rinaldi (August 27, 1934 – July 1, 2021)
- Shannon Maughan. July ...

, first published in 1991. It is about a young girl,

Harriet Hemings Harriet Hemings (May 1801 – after 1822) was born into slavery at Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States, in the first year of his presidency. Most historians believe her father was Jefferson, who is now bel ...

, who is a slave belonging to

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

. She tries to decide if she will stay and be a slave or leave and take her freedom; the other issue for her to decide on is whether " passing" is an option (passing would mean that her skin is white enough that she could pretend to be white in society). Meanwhile, there are constant rumors about Thomas Jefferson being her father. She deals with many obstacles along the way, including learning that, in the eyes of Jefferson, she is merely property. In the end she decides to pass as white (she is only 25% African-American) and live in the town nearby where she grew up. ''Wolf by the Ears'' won the 1994 Senior

Young Reader's Choice Award The Young Reader's Choice Award is an award program of the Pacific Northwest Library Association (PNLA) which was inaugurated in 1940 by Harry Hartman, a well-known Seattle based bookseller. It is the oldest "children's choice" award in the U.S. a ...

Reception

'' Kirkus Reviews'' found that "The novel itself rambles and is repetitive; its style echoes the period, but not consistently" and "A valiant, earnest try, but not a successful one."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf By The Ears 1991 American novels Novels by Ann Rinaldi American young adult novels American historical novels Novels about American slavery