Children's book author Alistair McIntyre knows why his book Doug the Digger is so popular with young readers, and says you only have to "look at a busy sandpit" to see how children relate to his love of machinery.
The writer, also known as "Mr Mac", is a role model for Duffy Books in Schools which provides free books to more than 100,000 New Zealand children, three times a year.
McIntyre visited 12 schools in the Whanganui region during the last two weeks to present the free books and share his own story with the children.
At Keith St School he received a warm reception and entertained the children with the tale of how he came to write Doug the Digger.
"When I was 5, I loved nothing better than trucks, diggers and bulldozers," he said. Having a father who was a civil engineer allowed young McIntyre to visit work sites and watch the machinery he loved in action.