In his review for AllMusic, Steve Loewy commented: "The results may have originally disappointed some of Sanders' fans, but with time the saxophonist clearly reinvented himself as a more traditional improviser capable of thoughtful and pensive deliberations".[2]
The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings called Moon Child "the straightest jazz album [Sanders had] made for years," and noted: "you can readily hear the kind of thing Sanders is after, a hypnotic groove that allows the horn to float almost at will."[3]