Holidays with Fergie is the first book written by Vaughan Wilson and describes his childhood holidays with his uncle, cousins and tractor Fergie.
Wilson, a property consultant, said he wrote the book a few years ago but decided to get it published after a visit to Allan Dippie’s car shed.
‘‘He had all these Ferguson tractors and it reminded me of this little story that I had written and hadn’t done anything with.’’
The book, aimed at children 7 and under, follows Wilson, his brother and cousins alongside his Uncle Gavin and his Ferguson tractor.
Wilson said he found the illustrator Adele Jackson from one of his daughter’s books she brought home from school.
‘‘She did such a great job and is very detail-oriented.
‘‘She researched the area and even had a friend of hers make a Ferguson tractor out of three-dimensional printing so she could hold it and turn it around to get different angles of the tractor,’’ he said.
The author, originally from Wellington, said his childhood was an adventurous time.
‘‘Although I had written the story before coming to Wānaka, this town reminds me of my childhood, it’s quite a simplified life here like it used to be.
‘‘It was such an easy way of life and was a lot of fun; hopefully the story embellishes a bit of that.
‘‘I hope it emphasises that you don’t have to have video games and all that tech stuff, you can find adventures where they lay,’’ he said.
Copies of the book can be found at TK School, the Wānaka Library, Paper Plus, The Next Chapter Bookshop and will be available to buy at Warbirds over Wānaka.
