ALA Booklist (Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2011)

Bedtime silliness abounds when these little chicks decide they're not ready for sleep. Eventually, Mama realizes she'll just have to tire them out herself. Weary parents may not appreciate this message, but young children will relate to the energetic chicks, who pop back into bed each time Mama checks on them and aren't sure how to react when Mama changes her tactics, challenging them to invite her to play. The chicks are fluffy and appealing; Mama appears progressively more stern, as she looms larger in the doorway each time she must come back. Young listeners will quickly learn and want to repeat the refrain, set off in large type and curving above chicks jumping on the bed, somersaulting through the air, and whacking each other with pillows: "Those chicks run wild!" Grown-ups will enjoy the final scene, where "Mama runs wild," painting her toenails red, having a cup of tea, and watching Gone with the Wing.

Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

A raucous group of chick siblings can't settle down at bedtime, going bonkers each time Mama leaves the room. Their clever mom returns and joins in the fun, dancing wildly with her chicks until they're begging for their beds. Spirited digitally painted pencil illustrations capture the bed-bouncing, pillow-fighting joy of a sleepover--and the satisfaction of dancing oneself into a happy slumber.

Kirkus Reviews

Here is a bedtime story for all those tireless adults who would rather have their charges erupt from their beds to do a mad jig instead of peacefully drifting off to sleep. So make it a midday story, because it is a good bit of rollicking fun. Five chicks are safely tucked in bed, "beneath the sheets. / Go to sleep now,' Mama tweets. / Mama kisses each dear child, / but when she leaves.../ those chicks run wild!" The pleasant-enough, rhymed text is nothing out of the ordinary, but it admirably does the job of gathering momentum—the gentle revving of its engine, the shift up to cruising speed, then the pedal to the metal. Jenkins takes the story at full throttle, too, with plenty of double-page spreads popping with energy and good cheer, and the characters are plain fun: The chicks look like they just stepped out of a chorus line of Peeps, while Mama might have been minted by the Looney Tune crowd. Her face when she catches the chicks faking sleep is a delight. Like a shot of caffeine between covers, it makes for a bracing read-aloud. (Picture book. 2-5)

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

The toddler chicks in this rowdy bedtime book think a good time consists of jumping on the bed, pillow fights, and cartwheels once their Mama closes the bedroom door. Each time Mama discovers the chicks' shenanigans, she settles them down and gives them ""One more kiss for each dear child,"" but it's never long before they are back at it again. Jenkins's rambunctious, roly-poly chicks resemble fuzzy yellow Easter eggs, differentiated by patterned pajamas, a hair bow, and some Harry Potter glasses; all five chicks exude mischief when pretending to sleep, glee when misbehaving, and alarm when Mama finds them out. It's a great concept, though lumbering verse (""They begin a pillow fight/ in the middle of the night./ As the feathers fill the air.../ they see Mama standing there!"") deflates some of the excitement. Luckily, Jenkins's artwork has enthusiasm to spare, and he has great fun with the ""if you can't beat 'em, join 'em"" ending that has the tired chicks begging Mama to go to sleep and has Mama running wild herself: by painting her toenails and watching a TV romance. Ages 2%E2%80%936. (Jan.)

School Library Journal (Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2011)

PreS-Gr 2 Mama puts her five little chicks to bed, kisses them, and tucks them in. But once she leaves, it's party time. The noise from cartwheels and somersaults brings her back to warn her brood sternly that it's time to go back to bed. But once she closes the door, they're wreaking havoc in a pillow fight. This time Mama decides, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and in the process she outfoxes her youngsters and tires them out. Finally, she gets some serious "me" time and settles down in the living room to give herself a pedicure while surrounded by books, movies, and a cup of tea. The text in this short rhyming story gets singsongy at times, but the pencil and digitally painted illustrations carry the folksy tale in an able fashion. An entertaining selection for bedtime, the book will also combine well in presentations with other funny chicken stories, such as Janet Morgan Stoeke's "Minerva Louise" series (Dutton). Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA