Three books. One extremely confident narrator.
Dave is nine, plays keyboard and trumpet, has strong opinions about everything, and is — in his own assessment — excellent. Across three books he meets his match, loses his way for a while, and falls over in front of an entire concert hall.
He would like a word first
Dave narrates his own books, and he is not shy about it. He tells you what he is good at before the story starts, argues with you a little, and occasionally admits something he did not mean to.
That voice is why children who say they do not like reading finish these. They are not being read at — they are being talked to by someone their own age who is funny and slightly too sure of himself.
My name is Dave. Just Dave. Not David, not Davey, not “hey you in the blue shirt.” Dave.
Chapter One, The Trouble with Leo
Read them in order
Each book stands on its own, but Dave changes across the three — and book three only lands if you watched him climb.
The Trouble with Leo
Dave meets his match.
Dave was the best in the class. Then a new boy joined on a Tuesday morning in November and turned out to be excellent too.
The Cool Kid Problem
Dave learns what a friend is for.
Zach is new, effortless and extremely cool. Dave decides the obvious response is to become cooler. Leo notices what it costs.
The Day Dave Fell
Dave falls over, and gets up.
He gets the trumpet solo. Three weeks of waiting, one enormous concert hall, and then the thing he never planned for, in front of everybody.
The complete Nobody Beats Dave set
All three books as EPUB and PDF, downloaded straight away and read in order. Amazon, Apple and Kobo sell them one at a time; the set exists on this site and nowhere else.
Or take the whole library — all 17 stories across four reading levels — for $44.99 on the eBook sets page.
Prefer a printed copy?
Printed and shipped by Amazon wherever you are, in full colour.
- Book 1 · The Trouble with Leo
- Book 2 · The Cool Kid Problem
- Book 3 · The Day Dave Fell
In Lagos I sell printed copies directly — signed, and delivered to your door by dispatch rider. These are the first of my books to be printed locally.
Order in LagosWhat makes this series work
He talks straight to you
Dave narrates in first person and argues with you a bit. Children who say they do not like reading tend to finish chapter one before they notice.
Short chapters, real pull
Twelve chapters in each book, every one ending somewhere you want to keep going. Good for a chapter a night, and very hard to stop at one.
Funny first, then real
Book one is comedy. By book three Dave is embarrassed in front of a concert hall and has to work out who stayed. The jokes keep coming; the stakes rise.
Other reading levels
Dave is for nine and up. For younger readers, three collections come before him.
Ready for the Adventure?
More funny stories. More life lessons. More books that kids will love and enjoy!