Chuck Taylor, of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably saying that "every element flows seamlessly together, from the understated production and the tendered melody to Montgomery's carefully measured performance."[3]
Chart positions
"The Little Girl" reached number one on the Billboard country chart in late 2000, holding the position for three weeks. It was Montgomery's seventh number-one hit and first since "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)" in 1995. The song also reached number one on the RPM country singles chart in Canada, and was that publication's last country number-one hit as RPM closed in November 2000.