ONE COW COUGHS

A rhyming book of numbers that has as its cast of characters a series of ``sick and miserable'' barnyard animals, such as a coughing cow, shaking sheep, moaning mules, sniffling oxen, weeping turkeys, and sneezing geese. Eventually, all the aches and pains are soothed away, as will be those of readers happily distracted by the charming conceit. The illustrations, which are colorful collages, have a strangely bleached and uniform look to them, which detracts slightly from their overall effectiveness. Nevertheless, an excellent choice for the bedridden rug-rat. (Picture book. 4-7)