The cover of Clark's first book

Move over, Thomas the Tank Engine, Frankie Forklift is here.

Frank Clark, vice president of forklift dealer The Lilly Company, has just published a children's book that has a forklift as the main character.

Frankie Forklift and Friends plots Frankie's adventures in a warehouse and planned follow-up books will introduce additional characters along the way.

Clark says all the characters come from his 25 years' experience in the forklift industry. "My inspiration ... came from my four-and-a-half-year-old twin boys. At night, before they would go to bed, I would make up different stories. One of those stories had to do with Frankie Forklift," he says.

"On the weekend, I would sometimes bring them up to our warehouse where we had lots of forklifts and they would point at one and call it Frankie.

"One night, one of my boys asked if I could read them a book about Frankie and Frankie Forklift and Friends was born.

The book is self-published, and Clark tells Forkliftaction.com News he is starting with 2,000 copies. He hopes to take the project to a publisher when he can demonstrate that the market has embraced his books.

"I believe the book will do well because over a series of eight to 10 books, we are going to introduce some 15 to 20 characters who revolve around who a forklift would meet when working in a warehouse. Since there are over 2 million forklift operators and probably another 20 million people that work in warehousing or come in contact with forklift equipment, many people will find the characters and stories compelling," he says. "I also believe that most anyone will find the stories useful and the characters endearing.

"It is our goal to introduce the materials handling industry to kids while using these unique characters like Frankie Forklift to teach simple life lessons," Clark adds.

The book is for sale online.