Julie of the Wolves is one of the all-time greatest books for kids. In the same vein is Karana in Island of the Blue Dolphins, another super awesome book for girls.

Oh yeah, there’s also nearly all of Nalo Hopkinson’s books, especially “Sister Mine.” Ms. Hopkinson’s stuff is probably more for teens, though. There’s also most of Nnedi Okorafor’s stuff especially “Akata Witch” and “Binti” for fantasy and sci-fi (respectively) set in Africa (usually Nigeria or some future place…

I recall reading two books by Bette Greene, “Phillip Hall Likes Me, I Reckon Maybe” and “Get on out of Here, Phillip Hall,” when I was kid. Both had the same young black girl as the protagonist, and although the books were set in the past (I think the 30s maybe), they were about finding your way and making friends by…