 The reviewer noted Jewish influences in the story with the name Binah, and the character calling her father "papa" and wearing a "shmatte" on her head.Kate Kellaway of "The Observer" described the story as "written in language that veers between Hilaire Belloc and breakfast TV", finding the tone arch and strained but containing charm.She felt Fulvimari's illustrations made the book look like "a party invitation with his pictures of a garlanded, girly existence