Both Uses of

Little Women
in
The Devil's Arithmetic

She told them the plot of Little Women in ten minutes, a miracle of compression, especially since her book report had been seven typed pages.
Chpt 7 *

Little Women = widely read Louisa May Alcott novel of four sisters with numerous film adaptations (1868-1869)

And all four had tears running down their cheeks when Beth died in Little Women.
Chpt 7

Definitions:

(1) (Little Women)
widely read Louisa May Alcott novel of four sisters with numerous film adaptations (1868-1869)
There are seven film adaptations including:
- 2019: starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Laura Dern, & Meryl Streep
- 1994: starring Susan Sarandon and Winona Ryder
- 1978: made-for-television film starring Meredith Baxter and Susan Dey
- 1949: starring Elizabeth Taylor and June Allyson
- 1933: starring Katharine Hepburn and Joan Bennett
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
meaning too rare to warrant focus:

Less commonly, little women can refer to the non-specific meaning of the most basic sense of the words -- small females