Booklist Starred Review
March 15, 1992

“Any large picture book that begins, ‘Silly Sally went to town, walking backwards, upside-down,’ as this one does, is guaranteed to be an instant hit with very young children. As one might predict, Silly Sally meets a host of animals along the road. A pig comes along first and joins her in her backwards, upside-down antics. Then follow a dog, a loon and finally a sheep, who put the whole crowd to sleep (backwards, upside-down, of course).

It is Neddy Buttercup, dressed as a flower, ‘walking forwards, right-side-up,’ who rouses the group and then joins them as they parade into town ‘walking backwards, upside-down.” Wee ones will love the sing-song rhyme and enthusiastically chant the nonsensical refrain. To the clever text are added distinctive watercolor paintings, exploding with whimsy, humor, and zest as the characters prance across the pages against sunny yellow backgrounds. Here is a neatly packaged gem of a book with smiling, red-curled, upside-down Silly Sally inviting readers to join in the fun. Be prepared to read this one a thousand times.”

— Deborah Abbott