Atinuke. Too Small Tola Gets Tough. Onyinye Iwu, Illus. Too Small Tola Series. Candlewick, 03/2023. 96pp. Reader. Trade $15.99. 978-1-5362-2946-2. GRADES 1 – 3. OUTSTANDING.
Beginner chapter books are usually distinguished by simple characters and straightforward plots, but Atinuke expands the genre. She shows us engaging and complex three-dimensional African characters living in a vibrant community, who grow and change as they respond to real world pressures. Set in the megacity of Lagos, at the start of the Covid epidemic, three dramatic short stories reveal how Tola and her family negotiate a lockdown that threatens to undo all the economic and academic progress they have made. Each story is full of warmth, humor, and hardship, and illustrated by appealing black, white, and grey drawings. The final story will have readers cheering when Tola solves a math-based mystery.
Melissa McAvoy—Retired