Beti and the Little Round House

Starred review from July 29, 2024
Atinuke (L Is for Love) draws from her experiences having moved from a “mansion” in Lagos to Wales, where she lived with her son in a “roundhouse built of straw and clay in the woods,” to showcase a life lived “simply on the land” in four gentle tales, which read like a cozy hug. Young Beti lives with her family in their “little round house,” which her parents built deep in the forest. She relishes the beauty of her surroundings; the creator brings to life the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of Beti’s world via lush and luminous storytelling. Starting with her birthday—during which Beti is given a goat named Naughty, who lives up to its name when it ruins her celebratory cake—the connected stories introduce the girl’s vibrantly depicted community and detail Beti’s penchant to turn ordinary outings like filling a jar for the family’s daily water supply into epic adventures. Illustrations rendered in muted pastels by Hughes (The Crafted World of Wharton Esherick) mirror the cheerful warmth of the stories; characters have varying skin tones. Ages 7–9.