Little vs. small

You can use the adjective 'little' to talk about things that are small:

a little house
a little children

However, 'little' is not normally used to emphasize or draw attention to the fact that something is small. For instance, you do not usually say:

The town is little.

or

I have a very little car.

But you can say:

The town is small.

or

I have a very small car.

'Little' is a less precise word than small, and may be used to suggest the speaker's feelings or attitude towards the person or thing being described. For that reason, 'little' is often used after another adjective:

What a nice little house you've got here!

Shut up, you horrible little boy!

'Little' and 'a little' are both used as determiners in front of uncount nouns, but they do not have the same meaning. For example, if you say I have a little money, this is a positive statement and you are saying that you have some money. However, if you say I have little money, this is a negative statement and you are saying that you have almost no money.