This audiobook quickly teaches children how to wash their hands with four fun stories set in everyday places: home, school, hospital, and petting farm. The author, Eamon Nancarrow, is also an infection control expert and uses both skills to deliver a serious message in a story that will endure for a lifetime.

The best guidance comes in the foreword by Ciaran O’Gorman, consultant medical microbiologist. Former author of the Regional Infection, Prevention and Control Manual for Northern Ireland.

Eamon Nancarrow has hit the mark squarely with this fantastic series of stories. As an infection control doctor I can testify to how challenging it is to get the message of good hand hygiene across.

Most of the time we are trying to communicate best practice in this area to fellow healthcare workers, which is difficult enough. These stories get the important facts across in a really human and straightforward manner.

The message is an important one for all ages, especially young children, some of whom will become the healthcare workers and food handlers of the future.

Effective hand hygiene, whether before food, after the toilet, in the hospital, or following the handling of animals, is the single most important step in reducing infections. Eamon’s true talent is in the story telling however. He has succeeded in taking a public health topic and making it interesting, funny and above all readable: no small feat.

As a professional, I think this book should be available in all primary schools, nurseries, GP practices, health centres, and Sure-Start programmes. More importantly, as a father of two book-hungry boys (one of whom is a two-year old dirt magnet!), I recommend these lovely stories to parents everywhere.