My Account
An author who began writing books to give his English students material they would engage in, presented to Snells Beach School students last month.
David Riley, aged 51 from Mangere, visits a number of schools to teach children the value of reading and show them his series of books.
“I was working as an English teacher at Tangaroa College and when I took my students to the library there was nothing they wanted to read,” David says. “That inspired me to write books involving real life characters that they looked up to and would want to read about.”
David released his first book Steppin’ with Benji Marshall in 2009, but had always wanted to be a writer.
“Since I was 13 I wanted to write a book, but I didn’t believe in myself for a long time. I was really inspired by Barry Crump and I hope my books can inspire students to write.”
Since his first book David has written about Sonny Bill Williams, Joseph Parker, Winston Reid and Steven Adams.
“Feedback from the schools I go to is that the students really enjoy the books, especially the boys who don’t often read. I keep the language simple, but don’t make them look like kids’ books – I get messages from mothers saying their husbands who don’t read even have a look at them.”
David has since written books for young children and also a series about people from various Pacific Islands and their professional careers.
“At Tangaroa College there are a lot of Maori and Pasifika people so I wanted them to culturally connect to my material.”
To read David’s books online visit readingwarrior.com
