"Every night up in their beds, / pillows fluffed up by their heads, / chicks are tucked beneath the sheets. / "Go to sleep, now," Mama tweets. / Mama kisses each dear child, / but when she leaves... / those chicks run wild!" So begins this entertaining bedtime tale, as a tired Mama Hen attempts to get her brood to sleep, only to find that they erupt into action every time her back is turned. What's a mother to do...?

Join in the fun, of course! Chicks Run Wild is an amusing picture-book examination of a fairly common bedtime theme - young children who don't want to go to sleep - one that pairs an engaging text in rhyme from author Sudipta Bardham-Quallen with colorful, amusing artwork by illustrator Ward Jenkins. I always recommend rhyming texts for use with younger children, and think that this one reads very well, making it an excellent story-time selection, especially at bedtime. ( )

In my opinion, this book would be a very good bed time story for mothers to read to their children. This book would specifically be a good choice for bed time because the mother hen is also trying to get her children to go to bed. Even though the illustrator used chickens and a hen as the characters, the scenario is believable and relate-able for the children. I really like how the story was told in rhymes. The ending words rhymed with the corresponding lines. The purpose of this book is for bed time stories. The idea of the story was to show how children have a hard time falling asleep but it takes only a mother’s thinking cap to find a way to put their children to sleep. This book is a great fit! Humorous and entertaining! ( )

The Caterpillow Fight (Candlewick 1997) was(is) an old favorite of mine. This is a similarly silly tale of siblings who run amok after Mama has tucked them in for the night. Of course, these aren't caterpillars, they're chicks. Mama gets increasingly angry after each time she checks in on them,

Wings on hips, she warns those chicks, "No more games and no more tricks!"
One quick peck for each sweet child,
she slams the door . . .
those chicks run wild!
In the end, Mama beats them at their own game. The illustrations are bright and cheerful and funny. The chick in the over-sized black frame glasses is a riot all by himself!
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Lauren's review at 5 Minutes for Books made this a must read when I need a laugh!