Spirited New Zealand illustrator Selina Young has made some good friends: Patch the dog, Pat the cat, Smudge the rabbit, and their human pals Zoe and Toby. These sweet towheaded siblings, as it turns out, have a lot of favorite words, and they"re anxious to share them in this 72-page, energetically illustrated picture book, subtitled "Words and Pictures for the Very Young." In generously detailed, cartoonish spreads, Zoe and Toby lead us through some of their favorite places (the supermarket, the swimming pool, the garden) and point out the names of the objects they find there (carrots, toothpaste, cheese; water, goggles, slide; frog, sunflower, bee). Each action-packed spread is a feast for the eyes, and Young has a knack for including objects that are essential to a child"s world--glue and glitter, finger puppets, fish sticks. Most of the objects in the pictures are labeled in good-sized type for children just learning to sound out and recognize words. My Favorite Word Book weathers multiple readings well, with lively questions, counting games, and hidden objects (a tiny ladybug "that was just passing" on the first page wanders throughout the pages, for example). This boisterous book also contains a colorful alphabet poster on the back jacket and--what a great idea for a word book!--an index, with help from Zoe, Toby, Patch, and Pat on how to use it. (Ages 2 to 6) --Paul Hughes