Little was born in Formosa, the daughter of Flora (Gauld), a doctor, and John Llewellyn Little, a physician. Her parents were Canadian doctors serving as medical missionaries under the United Church of Canada. The Little family came home to live in Canada in 1939, moving to Guelph in 1940. Although Little was legally blind from birth, she attended elementary and secondary school in regular classes. She went to the University of Toronto and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature.