cover image Herbert Binns and the Flying Tricycle

Herbert Binns and the Flying Tricycle

Caroline Castle. Dial Books, $10.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-8037-0041-3

Herbert Binns, a small, clever mouse, is a brilliant inventor. His three arch-enemiesMcTabbity, Zip and Measlydon't appreciate Herbert's cleverness. Because of their jealousy, they try to fumble Herbert's latest, greatest invention, a flying tricycle. But, as Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus showed us so many times, brains almost always triumph over brawn, and Herbert has the last laugh. Castle tells a satisfying tale, nicely balancing humor and suspense. Weevers's enchanting illustrations are lively and free-spirited; his three villains are appropriately unsavory without being frightening. This book is even more successful than its creators' previous collaboration, The Hare and the Tortoise. Ages 4-8. (March)