METROPOLITAN COW

Bennett Gibbon is a lonely bovine, the only calf in his part of town. Then a little pig, Webster Anderson, moves into the apartment next door. The two become comrades, much to the dismay of Bennett's parents, who have some mighty intolerant ideas about pigs. Bennett's friendship with Webster thrives anyway, until, ``in a moment of pure recklessness,'' he takes a dive into the local pig wallow. His parents explode, Bennett flees, and Webster saves the day. Social barriers drop, the Gibbon and Anderson elders find they have much in common—books, music, vegetarianism—and a beautiful friendship is born. Not a new story, but a pretty good kick in the pants of ignorance and pomposity. Egan (Chestnut Cover, 1995, etc.) sculpts the message smoothly into the story, and while his writing demonstrates a light touch, the artwork provides a smart counterpoint. A Deco air invests the story with a droll mood and city shadows—the colors are muted, and the wit is urbane. (Picture book. 4-8)