[The stories in Once Upon a Totem] have the complexity, variety of human beings and supernatural creatures, and conflicts between good and evil that characterize all great hero stories and reflect mythology, history, and intricate social systems…. The brief introductions, one for each story, throw light on unusual customs or traditions and give the book additional value. (p. 173)

Ruth Hill Viguers, in The Horn Book Magazine (copyright, 1963, by the Horn Book, Inc., Boston), April, 1963.