Moon Jump: 2a Countdown

A group of spirited cows competes in wacky fashion in this stratospheric romp. Led by the pugnacious Angus Le Boeuf, 10 cows set out to test the truth of the nursery rhyme: Can cows in fact jump over the moon? Lady Bovine tries ``her amazing trapeze of high-rise design,'' while Creamella the Great attempts to soar, Icarus-like, on a pair of fabricated wings. Only Little Miss Heiferton, of all the competitors, achieves the goal, ``with her plain old, ordinary long wooden pole.'' Though Brown's (generally) rhyming verse occasionally strains for effect, kids will no doubt appreciate--and adults groan at--her bovine wordplay ( cows monaut, moo torcycle, heli cow pter). Four panels of simple yet spirited artwork--all set against a deep-blue sky--adorn nearly every spread, documenting the diverse hurdles, while a row of spectator bossies at the top of each right-hand page diminishes by one with the successive failures. Youngsters may well feel that this debut is cows for celebration. Ages 2-5. (Jan.)