Giraffe Problems was mostly well received by critics, including starred reviews from Booklist,[1] Publishers Weekly,[2] and School Library Journal.

[2] School Library Journal's Lisa Taylor noted how John and Smith "bring their zany brand of comedy" to Penguin Problems.

[2] Booklist's John Peters wrote,Never one to let an opportunity for caricature go to waste, Smith stretches Edward’s neck to comical length in the brushy illustrations, decks it with neckties and shrubbery, and then after sending it sinuously spiraling and flopping through various scenes, shows on a climactic foldout that it’s the perfect length to reach a bunch of bananas on a tall tree.

[1]School Library Journal's Taylor also noted that the book "would lend itself perfectly to dramatic interpretation or an art lesson in sponge or block printing.

[...] Jory John’s story offers a breezy view of these issues as well as some endearingly elegant and polite dialogue between Edward and Cyrus.We learn that friendship can spring up in the unlikeliest of places, that it is possible to forget your own problems and help others – and that everyone can look good in a bow tie.