"The sound effects—from “clankety clankety” to “swishety swishety”—make this a fun read-aloud, and Mitchell’s full-of-green pictures are engaging domestic scenes with a little fairy dust thrown in."  ...Booklist April 15, 2010

"This Scottish folktale is subtle but effective in its message of humility. The illustrations are folksy and warm with amusing detail. A fun read-aloud."  ...School Library Journal April 2010

"Using strong construction and repetition in all the right places, the simple text is so artfully composed that it is ready-made for retelling, from the old woman's cantankerous "Work! Work! Work! How I hate it! Hate it! Hate it!" to the onomatopoeic clankety, swishety, flumpety and clickety noises made by the fairies gone berserk. ...master storyteller MacDonald's work shines."  ...Kirkus, March 1, 2010