"booklist" wrote "shepard's charmingly droll version of a finnish folktale combines classic elements with unexpected, witty details" and "the jewel-toned art has beautiful luminescence; the elongated, somewhat blocky look of the characters reinforces the fantasy; and the mice are downright irresistible.", the school library journal wrote "on the whole, though, this is a pleasant, attractive addition to folklore shelves." while "horn book" found it a "well-told tale"