COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO

Counting cows and chickens while making animal sounds is nothing new to the toddler set. One noisy rooster wakes up the farm while a mouse watches a progression of barnyard animals at work and play—feeding, swimming, and rolling in the mud. Expressive watercolors of the animals are suspended against clean white backgrounds, facilitating counting and creature recognition. The various noises the animals make are spelled out in large black letters. As the animals pose for a group picture at the end, Lavis offers the last line of his first book: ``And they all live . . . together on one very . . . NOISY farm.'' The last spread is a group shot, with the words hanging overhead like a visual cacophony of sound—a phonetic finale to otherwise standard fare. (Picture book. 2-6)