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I read this book sometime between 1990 and 1995. I don't remember anything about the plot, characters, cover, etc. -- but I do remember the following episode.

The children made small wooden carts that they could sit completely in side of, which they called tanks, which were steered via a rudimentary system of strings attached to the front wheels. In their neighborhood there was a ravine or valley of some sort. They took the tanks to opposite sides of the ravine, and rode them down to the bottom, attempting to smash into each other.

I remember this anecdote because shortly after reading the book, I built my own "tank" from leftover fencing and some lawnmower wheels. I didn't have a ravine, but somehow I convinced my older brother to push me around in it.

Any ideas what book or story this might be from?

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  • A ravine/valley with a river in it, so they were floating the tanks down? Or just rolling them along the ground?
    – Rand al'Thor ♦
    Jul 13 at 17:03
  • @Randal'Thor I don't remember there being a river. The tanks were rolling on the ground. "Ravine" may not be the right word, but "valley" felt too large.
    – LShaver
    Jul 13 at 18:46
  • I don't know the book, but 60-70 years ago it was quite common in the UK for boys to make themselves vehicles like that, called go-carts or trolleys. Difficult to search because Google insists that I want 'go-karts', which are different, but I found this
    – Kate Bunting
    Jul 14 at 8:16

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