Rats with Backpacks: Dr. Donna Kean and Her Work at APOPO by J.N. Courtney

This review first appeared on Reader Views. Read the Reader Views version here.

How did a little girl from Glasgow, Scotland, end up training rats in Tanzania for a Belgian organization? Read Rats with Backpacks: Dr. Donna Kean and Her Work at APOPO to find out. Author J. N. Courtney traces Dr. Donna Kean’s life from being an animal-loving child to her education that involved studying Tufted Capuchin monkeys, and her time as a behavioral research scientist studying monkeys and apes. Readers will watch her family life forever changing through her time at APOPO (a Dutch acronym for Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling, which translates to Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development). Courtney then does a deeper dive into APOPO’s work, training rats to detect landmines so they can be safely removed and deactivated; tuberculosis so it can be treated; and, finally, survivors in rubble so they can be rescued.

Rats with Backpacks is a fascinating book for kids aged eight to twelve. While it covers some heavy topics (like landmines and earthquakes), it does this in an age-appropriate manner, although parents know their kids best and should consider if such topics will bother their children. Overall, Rats with Backpacks is an inspiring story about turning a love of animals into a fascinating, meaningful, and vital career, in addition to how rats are being trained to do important life-saving work.

While I had vaguely heard of rats being used to detect landmines before reading Courtney’s Rats with Backpacks, I did not know any details, and I didn’t know how much rats can be trained to do. As a city girl, I have harbored somewhat of a fear and even, at times, disgust for rats. Courtney showed me, however, that not only are these small and intelligent creatures worthy of study, but they can be absolutely instrumental in various life-saving detection scenarios. While, as I mentioned, Rats with Backpacks is intended for children, adults can certainly learn something from this interesting book as well.

Rats with Backpacks by J. N. Courtney is an inspiring personal story about a woman transforming her lifelong love for animals into a life-saving career.  It’s also a story of APOPO, an organization that trains rats to detect landmines, tuberculosis, and survivors in rubble. Courtney has crafted a fascinating and accessible book for children that adults will take something away from as well.

Rats with Backpacks: Dr. Donna Kean and Her Work at APOPO by J.N. Courtney, J. N. Courtney Publications