Publishers Weekly, reviewing Christmas in the Big House, wrote "This is a book of significant dimension and importance, and could be read at any time of year.

Rendered in acrylic on board, Thompson's remarkably realistic paintings are charged with emotion and masterfully tie together the book's diverse contents.

"[1] Kirkus Reviews, on the other hand, wrote "The McKissacks .. have written a strangely romantic view of a pre-emancipation Christmas."

and concluded "The line between glorifying aspects of slave culture and seeming to ignore the brute evil of slavery is thin.

"[2] Christmas in the Big House has also been reviewed by Booklist,[3] The Horn Book Magazine,[4] and Library Talk.