Herbert Binns and the flying tricycle by Caroline Castle and Peter Weevers

In some books I find I can really hear the characters talking, I can hear their voices, I can hear the nuances of their speech, their local dialects and accents. This is certainly true for Herbert Binns and the flying tricycle.

Herbert is an inventor and he has made a wonderful flying machine incorporating a bicycle and huge wings. His three arch enemies McTabbity, an old rabbit, Zip, a greedy young rat and Measly, a mean old weasel, are enraged with jealousy. They hit upon a diabolical plan, to wreck Herbert’s flying machine just before his maiden flight but of course our hero is one step ahead of the evil trio and so things do not turn out as all as they expect.

Here we have another terrific picture book, beautifully illustrated and with a lovely message that is, alas, out of print. It was first published 1986 and if you ever see a copy I would say grab it with both hands and don’t let go – this book is a treasure. Oh and I forgot to mention Herbert is a mouse – this is rapidly become a theme of my blog books so many seem to be about mice!!