Bart the Lover her role in the episode. She was one of six voice-actors from "The Simpsons" to win the award that year. She is one of three guest stars on the show to win the award. The other two are Jackie Mason, who shared the award in 1992, and Kelsey Grammer who won in 2006 for voicing Sideshow Bob. Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from television critics. It was named the eighth best episode of "The Simpsons" by Sarah Culp of "The Quindecim". Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict said "Bart the Lover" represent "The Simpsons" "at its apex as
Bart the Mother favorite "The Simpsons" episodes, along with "Bart Sells His Soul" and "Lisa's Substitute". The "Toronto Sun"s Bruce Kirkland wrote that "Bart the Mother" was one of the "classic episodes" of the series' tenth season. The authors of the book "I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide", Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood wrote, "We particularly like the moral dilemma at the end, as underlined by Lisa, regarding the eventual culling of the lizards that will need to take place. A good romp, this one, with some nice laughs at Homer's expense." Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie