Milly
Eight years old, bold, curious and loyal. Milly makes decisions quickly and occasionally discovers why plans are meant to happen before the running begins.
Illustrated comedy adventures · ages 6–9
Milly and Rosie
One girl. One talking dog. Several very bad explanations. When Rosie swallows an alien communicator, she, Milly and their neighbour Hugh become Earth's smallest and least official alien rescue service.
The secret rescue team
Meet the people attempting to keep Earth tidy.
Milly supplies courage and momentum. Hugh notices the thing everybody missed. Rosie translates alien emergencies and remains convinced that snack provision is a matter of planetary security.
Rosie
A brown boxer-cross with a white blaze, floppy ears and several years of complaints prepared. Rosie remains completely canine even when speaking excellent sentences.
Hugh Chen
Milly's neighbour and equal member of the team. Hugh is observant, imaginative and particularly useful when Milly's plan consists of going nearer to the problem.
The first six adventures
A complete rescue in every book. Usually.
The books are being developed as illustrated British chapter books for independent and shared reading. Publication links will appear only when a title is genuinely available.
Milly, Rosie and the Scaredy-Saucer
A frightened saucer, four stranded aliens and one dog who swallows the wrong piece of equipment.
Open the case file →Milly, Rosie and the Alien in the Attic
Something in the attic smells of fish, electricity and poor decisions.
Open the case file →Milly, Rosie and the Moon-Monster Mix-Up
The monster may not be a monster, and the rescue team is a very long way from the garden shed.
Open the case file →Milly, Rosie and the Galactic School Inspection
An alien inspector has mistaken Milly's school for Earth's planetary government.
Open the case file →Milly, Rosie and the Planet-Eating Puppy
A dog-like alien stands accused of swallowing an inhabited world.
Open the case file →Milly, Rosie and the Almost-Invasion
Earth has been marked as an unofficial refuge, and somebody intends to close it.
Open the case file →A short approved sample
Something fell out of the sky.
Milly woke because Rosie was standing on her chest. This was not unusual. Rosie believed beds were shared property and people were cushions.
Outside, something bright streaked across the sky. It made a noise like a dustbin falling down a staircase, followed by a crunch from the direction of the hedge.
A few minutes later Rosie swallowed a silver communicator, hiccupped a blue spark and looked at Milly. ‘That,’ she said, ‘was not a sausage.’
This extract is from the current working manuscript and may change before publication.
Rosie's Official Mission Report
The Scaredy-Saucer Incident
- To
- Galactic Council, Earth Observation Desk
- Officer
- Rosie
- Rank
- Acting Head of Planetary Security and Snacks
- Outcome
- Successful despite the humans
Milly was brave. Hugh was useful. The aliens escaped. Emergency snacks were entirely inadequate. This final matter requires further investigation.
About the author
Geoff Webster
Geoff Webster is a strategist, reformer and storyteller whose work spans public-service transformation, international delivery and imagined worlds that are usually rather less orderly than the programmes he has led.
He is the author of The Gorstan Chronicles, the Inspector Bowley historical mysteries and the Milly and Rosie series of children's books.
Beyond the books
His career has included cross-government programmes involving British ports, the Cabinet Office Futures function and Cabinet Office End User services. In the private sector, he contributed to the integration of Coutts into the Royal Bank of Scotland and to Boots' sale of its international healthcare division to Reckitt Benckiser.
Internationally, his work has included leadership development in Kuwait, banking reform in Bahrain and teaching at the American University of Kuwait.
For grown-ups
Milly and Rosie's Adventure Club
The club will share new-book news, puzzles, colouring pages, previews and occasional reports from Rosie. It is for parents, carers and other responsible adults only.
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Reader feedback
What did you think?
- Who was your favourite character?
- Which part made you laugh?
- Was anything confusing or too frightening?
- What alien should appear next?
- What should Rosie report to the Galactic Council?
A grown-up can send a photograph or scan of a reader's answers. Please do not include a child's full name, email address, school, photograph or location.