Booklist

"...Eli's foray to the factory in his helio-rocket-copter provides ample opportunity for Rocco's fabulous artwork. His inventive paintings, done in deep, rich colors of night and tinged with gold, are used in spreads, panels, and full pages. The mechanical "gizbots" inside the factory, adjusting valves and dials, along with the intricate hand drawings of the factory's inner workings, will keep children, especially the mechanically inclined, totally fascinated. Although the story may not have quite as much magic as the artwork, the ending, which brings Eli's soldier father home, is sweet and satisfying. This will sustain many readings." -Ilene Cooper

Kirkus

"...Partly related in wordless panels reminiscent of David Wiesner’s stories, this offering will draw fans of other elaborately illustrated Moon tales such as Lynda Gene Rymond’s Oscar and the Mooncats (2007) and Dean Morrissey and Stephen Krensky’s Crimson Comet (2006). In keeping with its closing images of Eli’s returning dad, it is topically enough dedicated “to the children of soldiers everywhere.”

School Library Journal

"Steeped in dreamy sepia tones suffused with golden light and brightened by unexpected patches of electric blue, the illustrations are lush and painterly. Using spreads combined with comic-style panels, Rocco creates a hint of a graphic novel for the youngest readers. This original fantasy melds high adventure with a retro 1940s look in a long narrative perfect for older preschoolers and early elementary children. Readers will linger over the pictures and cheer for the businesslike but heroic Eli, who discovers that sometimes things can just fix themselves."

Library Media Connection

"Reminiscent of the 1940's Rocco's Illustrations evoke a feeling of a bygone era." "Use this book with students who are missing their parents or dealing with a fear. Recommended.