No age too early: lab exposure through children’s books

Summary

Two new children’s books aim to introduce young readers to the world of laboratory medicine. Mia the Marvelous Lab Explorer follows a young superhero pathologist as she helps diagnose a young boy with leukemia, while ABCs of Laboratory Medicine uses the alphabet to explain various laboratory concepts. Both books are part of the STEM to STAT framework, which seeks to increase awareness and interest in laboratory careers among children.

Valerie Neff Newitt

April 2026—Thanks to two new books, children can read about heroes in crisp, white lab coats rather than the more common silky red capes. And both books serve a dual purpose.

They are Mia the Marvelous Lab Explorer: The Case of Leo’s Missing Energy and ABCs of Laboratory Medicine.

Mia, written by Kamran Mirza, MD, PhD, and Lotte Mulder, PhD, is the story of a tiny laboratory superhero (with a talking microscope named Micah) who dives into the blood sample and works alongside pathologists and medical laboratory professionals to solve medical mysteries. Leo is a young boy with acute leukemia.

“Children rarely see the superheroes working behind the scenes in health care, and they often do not understand what is happening to them when their diagnoses are made,” says Dr. Mirza, clinical professor of pathology (hematopathology) and assistant chair for education, Department of Pathology, Michigan Medicine. “This book is our way of shining a light on both the people behind the diagnosis and the disease itself. In that sense,” he says, “it is a true win-win.”

The book (https://bit.ly/Labexplorer) also can lift some of the burden from parents, who have to explain the illness to their children, says coauthor Dr. Mulder, ASCP senior education program manager. It’s of help, too, to children who might struggle to understand why a friend has become ill. Throughout the story of Leo’s laboratory work and diagnosis are questions for the reader, intended to begin discussions, such as: If you could have your own medical detective superpowers, what would they be? If someone looks different because they are sick, how can you show them kindness?

“Even though we are dealing with a serious and difficult diagnosis,” Dr. Mirza says, “we chose to end on a hopeful note, with our hero helping Leo get better. That was important to us.”

The target group for the book is children ages four through nine. Dr. Mulder says she gave the book to a four-year-old, for whom it’s become a favorite. “She makes her dad read it aloud to her every night, and now when she does her pretend play, she pretends to be a pathologist.” Dr. Mulder’s own daughter, who is five, “wants to be a ‘blood pathologist like Kamran’ when she grows up. This is how it starts,” Dr. Mulder says, “when they’re four and five and they’re understanding what people do in the laboratory.”

“Introducing pathology to younger audiences is incredibly important,” Dr. Mirza says. “Children often see firefighters and police officers as superheroes, and they absolutely are. But why not pathologists as well?” In the book, they and medical laboratory professionals are the detective superheroes of the hospital.