JUMP!

Lavis (Cock-A-Doodle-Doo, 1997) brings readers into the fray from the outset: ``Tiger jumping, frog jumping, let's jump too.'' A boy and his teddy bear and their frog companion visit and step out with a number of animals. They swing with a monkey, roar with a lion, slither with a snake (teddy shivers, not slithers), fly with a toucan, and stomp with an elephant, until by the end of the book all are gathered in a gyrating hoe-down, a furious commotion that begs for participation. As much as the book encourages physical involvement, it also inspires readers to shout along with the energetic, rhyming, repetitive text: ``Crocodile snapping, let's start clapping, frog's scared of you.'' The frog offers minor funny asides on every page of this amiable outing, further buoyed by Lavis's carefree watercolors. (Picture book. 2-6)