While David Martin was teaching English to kids in Japan, he started creating a lot of his own material.

So much so, that he decided to take it to the next level -- writing books.

"I wanted to make a book about Canada and Japan," says Martin, whose first title was called Dave the Canadian Beaver Goes to Japan.

"The book did pretty well."

Since moving back to North Vancouver two years ago, Martin has been making educational videos on YouTube as part of its partner program. But he's also created a slew of new books for kids aged 2-5.

"They're simple fun books -- phonics-based books for rhyming and stuff like that," explains Martin.

His collection includes Where's My Cheese Please?, Fishy Food, The Little Bare Bear, Bob and Cayle and David Martin's ABC's: Z is for Zebra.

Up next is a longer story, By the Light of the Moon, targeted at kids aged nine and up.

Until now, he's been mainly selling them online but he recently decided to approach local bookstore.

You can pick up a copy of Martin's books at North Vancouver Save-On-Foods locations or at Indigo Books on Marine Drive. For more information go to www.djcpublishing.com.

mkrishnan@nsnews.com