"This enchanting retelling of the ‘Mouse Bride' folk tale is perhaps the best showcase yet for Grobler's (Carnival of the Animals) fluidly executed, eccentric watercolor-and-ink illustrations … Dijikstra's brisk, straightforward text and familiar elements gives the book its ballast of timelessness, but it's the giddy glee emanating from Grobler's artwork that makes the story magic. He cherry-picks from a wide range of artistic traditions: the menagerie that follows the hermit everywhere is the stuff of decorative folk art, while the good-natured ascetic (who is such a gentle soul that a bird makes its nest on his hat) could take his place in an illuminated manuscript. Yet with all of Grobler's visual nudges and fillips, his pictures never feel self-indulgent. there's a sense of logic (however idiosyncratic) to every composition, and the ink lines and colors land on the page with the lightness of a zephyr."
     —Publishers Weekly

"Grobler's charming, stylized color illustrations are the highlight of this version [of the Mouse Bride]. All of the characters are expressively drawn, from Little Mouse's huge black eyes to the hermit's exuberant hair and wide smile, and the flora and fauna are subtly detailed. Dijkstra's text is shorter and simpler than other versions, making it accessible for younger readers … a welcome addition for larger collections."
     —School Library Journal

"This Dutch import gets points for its brisk pacing and for its stylized yet child-friendly artwork. The faces of the characters are cleverly exaggerated so that the hermit and the mouse resemble one another and the airy pages are home to birds and trees that enhance the elemental feeling of nature's forces."
     —Booklist