"Good confronts evil in a comic adventure spiced with rambunctious wordplay and deepened by allusions to the world's real afflictions. Clever and highly imaginative." –
Kirkus Reviews "A potent dose of comic fantasy, bubbling over with clever wordplay and slapstick incidents, and spiked with verse." –
Publishers Weekly
"Envy the parents who get to read it aloud at bedtime, facing the challenge of voicing larger-than-life characters...Ende revels in zany details and little asides. The tone of amused horror is well sustained in this playful translation...Amid the gags comes meaning, particularly when a cat arrives at a new understanding of his life, and when we witness the destruction of nature. It all ends in an operatic aria. And why not? Michael Ende also likes to keep his readers thinking." –Eileen Battersby,
TLS