Southall was the first Australian to win the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject.

According to a retrospective citation by the British librarians, city boy "Josh's stay at Ryan Creek belongs to any time and place where people from different worlds confront one another.

A traditional hero might have faced and fought the bullies but Josh shows a different sort of courage and integrity by choosing to walk away with dignity.

[4] It is written from Josh's point of view, the taut language effectively conveying his distress and frustration.

Michele Gill cites Josh as an early example of the sensitive and vulnerable hero, a theme which became more and more prominent in children's literature afterward.