From a Kirkus review:

“Mommy, Daddy and I made three, but we thought we might like four.” Cuddled between his mother and father on the porch swing, this observant child narrates the story of finding an addition to the family. With a spare storyline and rich, warm illustrations, Marinsky parades through a number of ill-fitting animal choices. The dog sheds too much. Walking the turtle takes too long. The litany of unsatisfactory animals quickly veers into the absurd with a dolphin swimming in the living room and the kitchen being destroyed by an octopus. The young boy, found in every picture, personally witnesses the reason each animal is not selected. At last, the perfect addition is found, in the person of a baby sibling the little boy addresses directly. The combination of text and image may confuse, as it slips in and out of the surreal. Overall, the whole book has a calm tone, and there is a gentle kindness in the older brother that appeals; in the last picture, he reads an animal book to the new baby.

School Library Journal:

“Children will enjoy this sweet look at a growing family.”

Jean Westmore of the Buffalo News: 09/30/2012:

“Buffalo artist Jane Marinsky made what Publishers Weekly called a "standout" debut with The Goat-Faced Girl. In her new picture book, she combines two well-trod subjects - wanting a new pet and welcoming a new baby - into one sweet and imaginative story, elevating it to another plane with her whimsical, beautiful paintings. Children will delight at the playful approach: "Walking the turtle took forever" is accompanied by an illustration of Dad and his little boy, trailed by a giant red leash with the turtle far back on a country road that weaves through a Gaugin-like riot of plant life. On another page, the boy searches for a chameleon that perfectly blends into the couch pattern. For "The dolphin needed too much water," a living room becomes an oceanscape with Mom sporting goggles and a scuba breathing tube and even the teddy bear wearing flippers and a life preserver. Particularly delightful is the octopus, who "made a mess of everything." A bright orange giant octopus, its tentacles waving and stirring what might be chocolate pudding, wreaks havoc in the kitchen - milk spilled, eggs broken, a pot boiling over, the sink overflowing. For "the porcupine was hard to hug," both boy and teddy bear are sporting Band-aids. Right down to the charming ending, this book is a delight, "Just Perfect" in every way.”