My Sore Throat

A beautifully illustrated book that explains what happens when your doctor takes a throat swab! Designed to demystify a medical laboratory process for little ones and their whanau.

My Sore Throat is a charming children's book, with a poetic narrative that follows Small Bear as he gets poorly with a sore throat and visits the doctor for a throat swab. Small Bear and his father don't know what happens to the throat swab next, so they visit Uncle Fred, a medical laboratory scientist who explains it all.

Illustrated throughout with richly detailed collage art, the book gives young readers and their adults lots to look at and enjoy, while explaining a medical laboratory process and gently presenting some important public health messages.

About the Author

Born into the age when there were few vaccinations and antibiotics, Dr Heather Brooks' childhood included many experiences of infectious diseases. Thus began her fascination with the microbes that make us ill. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science with Honours from the University of Surrey (UK), she went on to complete a PhD in Medical Microbiology at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical School, University of London (UK). 

Plans for a career in medical research were stymied by an economic downturn and, almost by accident, she turned to the diagnostic medical laboratory sector for a secure form of employment. However, the call back to research would not go away, eventually compelling her to seek out a new life in New Zealand where she has been happily researching and teaching medical microbiology as a university academic since 1977.