Millie & Oscar Go Loco

Millie and Oscar are ordinary children, but it all changes when they are introduced to Mr Wallatt, an eccentric scientist.


Millie, Oscar, and their friend Derek, learn that Mr Wallatt is an eco-warrior and a hoarder, who believes that everything should be recycled so the planet is deeply cherished. He is plotting to help migratory birds on their long seasonal flights by reinforcing the magnetic field at the North Pole using a giant battery and a large electromagnet from his attic. 


In a separate part of the world, in Arizona, Jed Bronzovic, an astronomer, has been given the task of studying the asteroid belt. He finds a large asteroid made mostly of iron that has been diverted and may pass close by the Earth – he calls it Ferrus-11.  


As Mr Wallatt, the children and their fast-running cat, Torpedo, make headway with their experiment, Jed calculates that Ferrus-11 is going to collide with the Earth and its impact may lead to complete loss of life on the planet. Warning broadcasts are made around the world, and it soon dawns on the three children that Mr Wallatt’s magnet may hold the key to deflecting the asteroid. With time quickly running out, can they complete the mission and save the Earth from destruction?


Peter Tyrer is Emeritus Professor of Community Psychiatry at Imperial College, London and Consultant in Reconstructive Psychiatry in Lincolnshire. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, a Fellow and Honorary Fellow (by Distinction) of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He is still actively working and developing new approaches to chronic mental disorders. He has previously published 624 original articles and 41 books, mainly for specialist readers but sometimes for the general public. His latest book, Poleaxed, written about a viral epidemic in 1967 was written before the coronavirus pandemic. Millie & Oscar Go Loco is his first book for children, with the main characters based on his own grandchildren.