[The Ferlie is an] overly long but nevertheless intriguing fantasy with authentic characters, setting and dialect…. The old question of the desirability of perfection is handled freshly here, and the story is sufficiently rooted in everyday happenings and concrete detail to hold the attention of young readers.

Diane G. Stavn, "Grades 3-6: 'The Ferlie'," in School Library Journal, an appendix to Library Journal (reprinted from the December, 1968 issue of School Library Journal, published by R. R. Bowker Co./A Xerox Corporation; copyright © 1968), Vol. 15, No. 4, December, 1968, p. 45.