REVIEW: Rats to the Rescue: The Unlikely Heroes Making Cambodia Safe (nonfiction picture book) written by Scott Riley with Sambat Meas, illustrated by Huy Voun Lee

Rats to the Rescue: The Unlikely Heroes Making Cambodia Safe is a nonfiction picture book. I bought my copy new.

Review:

I don't normally read and review picture books, but I couldn't resist this one, which focuses on demining efforts in Cambodia, a Cambodian deminer named Malen, and the beginnings of efforts to use African giant pouched rats to more quickly and safely find explosives in Cambodia. The specific rat mentioned in this book was Magawa, an African giant pouched rat trained in Tanzania - Magawa spent five years sniffing out mines in Cambodia and located over 100 mines.

I couldn't say what children might think of this picture book, but I, personally, enjoyed it. I've loved the HeroRATs since I first heard about them, and I liked learning a little more about how Magawa helped Malen do her work more quickly and efficiently.

Extras:

A couple pages on the perspectives of the writers and illustrator of this picture book, a page about Magawa and the other rats trained by APOPO, a page outlining the steps involved in training one of the HeroRATs, a pronunciation guide, and a timeline. There are also photos of Malen, Magawa, a rat being trained, and demining work being done with a HeroRAT.