Margaret Bush wrote in the School Library Journal that "Clark's energetic pen and acrylic scenes, though warm in color and incorporating folk-art motifs, build the horror of the rodents piling up by the thousands and chasing people through town; the nightmarish rat invasion will satisfy readers yearning for something really creepy".

[5] Amanda Craig of The Times said "children are seen dancing through the book, and it is given a topical ring with a greedy mayor being taught a lesson in responsibility; Clark's illustrations are outstanding".

[7] Kirkus Reviews opined that "it's a nuanced and substantial retelling of the well-known morality tale; Clark's pencil-and-acrylic illustrations are bright and beautifully composed; the teeming rats radiate menace without being actively scary".

[8] Publishers Weekly said the novel has "a blatant social agenda; a corrupt, fetid setting; a scathing indictment of the ruling class; it's enough to make even deep-seated blue staters blanch".

[9] Hazel Rochman wrote in The Booklist that "true to the spirit of the original tale, this attractive retelling adds some new twists and a happy ending without denying the dark, universal drama".

[10] John Cohen of Reading Time stated "unlike the original poem this retelling has a happy ending that might not please the purists but is still eminently satisfying; the illustrations are rich in colour and action and while not extending the story are a wonderful complement".

[12] Trevor Dickinson of The School Librarian noted how the "writer and artist have created here a work of immense and deeply moving energy;iIt is a truly remarkable achievement combining a great variety of illustration shapes and sizes, all of them giving whole-hearted and eye-catching support to an outstanding text".

[2] In her review of the performance for The Guardian, Erica Jeal wrote that "Matthews’s fifty-minute score does not talk down to the youngest in its audience; something in which he emulates his mentor Benjamin Britten".