The story of the bond between an Indian boy and his grandfather—by turns wry and melodramatic, at once fervent and prosy. At the start, a bantering camaraderie is established between Little Thunder and old Tayhua—which, however, is heavy with irony at the expense of the white man (whose "religious symbols" allegedly include the dollar sign and the TV antenna) and heavily dependent, as well, on an adult play of words.
—Kirkus