OVER ON THE FARM

Gunson presents the numbers from one to ten in a sumptuous book for the very young that toys with the familiar childhood ditty, ``Over in the Meadow.'' ``Over in the field in the green and the blue/lived a woolly mother sheep/and her little sheep two./`Leap,' said the mother./`We leap,' said the two. . . .'' The rhyming builds on the framework of animal babies whose numbers continue to increase. Warmth, security, and playfulness permeate the book, in the rhyme and meter, unexpected syntax and language, and absorbing tableaux. The creatures are often shown with smiles that border on cutesy, but there is otherwise a sophistication to the portrayals—which have a sponged look—of cats, sheep, frogs, and other animals in richly colored settings. Texture is emphasized rather than detail, to unique effect. A final spread presents all the animals for counting in a read-aloud of which adults won't quickly tire. (Picture book. 2-4)