Booklist, reviewing Ma Dear's Aprons, wrote "As with most loving memories, there is a softening of the harsh edges, but McKissack's words and Cooper's warm double-spread oil-wash paintings are true to the period. They show the exhausting work as well as the proud and loving bonds of family."[1] The School Library Journal stated "The real story is Ma Dear's. Children who have this book read to them will see an African-American woman whose life in the rural south of the early 1900s was difficult but lived with dignity and joy."[1]
The Horn Book Magazine found "There is little plot, but there is plenty of emotion and many details to attract a child. .. Text and illustrations together create a portrait of a family working hard to survive but also finding much to be joyful about."[2]
Ma Dear's Aprons has also been reviewed by Kirkus Reviews,[3] Publishers Weekly,[4] and the Journal of Reading Education.[5]
