Sampson, it is revealed, has sworn never to harm a mouse, having listened to many sermons on brotherly love and meekness while living in the church and taken their message to heart.
The Times Literary Supplement, for example, noted that Oakley shows "how effectively words and pictures can be crafted together, so that our understanding of the story depends on the two.
"[2] In a review of The Church Mouse, Emma Milne-White noted that Oakley's "glorious illustrations are packed so full of detail and humor that something new is discovered with each reading...they complement the story beautifully.
"[7] Other reviewers have commented on the strength of Oakley's "memorable characters, beautifully realized," and on the Church Mice books' ability to entertain both children and older readers simultaneously.
The Church Mice Adrift was a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year, and was nominated for a Kate Greenaway Medal in 1977.