ALA Booklist (Mon Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2010)

Eschewing the typical scenario of readying children for bed, Rosenthal tickles toddlers' funny bones with a role-reversal tale in which the child gets Mommy ready for bed. Working at her computer, papers askew, a harried and bespectacled mom pleads for five more minutes. Wearing a self-satisfied smile, the freckled child times her and then pushes her up the stairs to her bath. Pham cleverly submerges Mom in a bubble bath while the determined child scrubs her toes. Mom then gives thumbs-down to several attempts at picking tomorrow's outfit, exuberantly bounces into bed, bargains unsuccessfully for two books tonight (they curl up with Anna Karenina), and begs for a glass of water. Watching the clocks will provide added amusement (it takes one hour to get Mom tucked in, and then it's Dad's turn). With the entire text in speech bubbles and humorous, uncluttered watercolor paintings surrounded by lots of white space, this switcheroo book is a perfect bedtime choice.

Horn Book (Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

A little girl puts her mom to bed--marching her upstairs, scrubbing her feet in the bath, monitoring teeth-brushing ("Did you brush your teeth?" "Yep." "A nice long time?" "Yep." "Good mommy"), picking out tomorrow's outfit, and "reading" her a book--before falling exhausted into her own bed. The conceit works quite well, with Pham's comical illustrations humorously extending Rosenthal's witty speech-balloon text.

Kirkus Reviews

A wry role-reversal tale finds a freckle-faced little girl cajoling her mother into bed. After granting her mom "five more minutes" at her desk, the tot gets her into the tub, helps her pick out tomorrow's outfit and reads her a book (just one— Anna Karenina —because "it's getting late"). A glass of water and a kiss later, this determined little girl is ready for the next task: "Daddy! Time for bed!" Rosenthal's text consists entirely of dialogue in speech bubbles, which makes way for Pham's ink-and-watercolor vignettes to milk the situation for all it's worth. Mommy's body language and expressions are so thoroughly childlike despite their entirely adult proportions that both kids and adults will find themselves giggling. It's a game played out in families everywhere and executed very well here. (Picture book. 3-6)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

It takes a loving but firm child to get a recalcitrant Mommy to bed—at least, that's how the little heroine of this tables-turned tale sees it. Mommy pulls out every trick in the book—including asking to be read two bedtime books instead of one (in one of several jokes aimed at adults, the evening's text is <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Anna Karenina). But the little girl never loses her voice of knowing authority. “Did you brush your teeth?” writes Rosenthal (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Duck! Rabbit!). “A nice long time?” The always terrific Pham (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Freckleface Strawberry) strikes just the right tone with her domestic satire (Mommy's highly physical critiques of the wardrobe choices for the next day have clearly been drawn from life). In fact, it's that very physicality—seeing an adult behaving in such recognizably childish ways (dancing with glee when the bath toys arrive) while the small girl affects a maternal persona (delivering an exhausted “<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Phew!” when all is said and done)—that is most likely to strike a chord with kids. But as clever as the book is, there isn't much to invite repeated readings. Ages 3–5. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Apr.)

School Library Journal (Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2010)

PreS-K In this reversal of roles in the bedtime routine, a mother tries all the familiar stall tactics when her daughter announces, "Time for bed, Mommy!" She tries everything from a plea for five more minutes to a final drink of water and the door left slightly ajar. The story is told in short sentences that fit neatly into dialogue balloons. The perky watercolor and ink cartoon-style illustrations on white backgrounds speak as clearly as the text. Some pages are wordless and allow readers to tell the story themselves. Little girls in particular will love sharing this bedtime story with their mothers. Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH