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YOUNGER FICTION
Atinuke,

Too Small Tola Makes It Count

96 pp. | Candlewick | September, 2024 | Trade ISBN 9781536238150 $16.99 | Ebook ISBN 9781536240030 $16.99
(2) 1-3 Too Small Tola series. Illustrated by Onyinye Iwu. Atinuke returns for a fourth time (Too Small Tola, rev. 3/21, and sequels) to her diminutive, high-spirited, mathematically gifted protagonist's "run-down block of apartments in the megacity of Lagos, in the country of Nigeria," with its close-knit and quirky neighbors. Much happens in the three brief chapters, with Iwu's energetic, expressive black-and-white illustrations visually grounding readers in the setting and its culture while highlighting key story details. As Tola and her sister and brother readjust to living with Grandmommy after "the virus" had separated the family, Tola worries about elderly neighbor Mrs. Shaky-Shaky, isolated on the building's top floor, and observes tensions between Grandmommy and Tola's brother over his new friends. A beach day with Grandmommy prompts Tola to feel gratitude for all she has. Finally, she triumphs over accusations of dishonesty and learns lessons in accountability and forgiveness. Throughout, Atinuke lends specificity to her Nigerian setting through references, word choices, and dialogue capturing precise pronunciations and turns of phrase. "For true," such attention to culturally situated details will prove just as valuable to readers as the core values communicated by these big-hearted stories about a small Nigerian girl.
Reviewer: Megan Dowd Lambert | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2024

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