Frances Watts was born in Switzerland and grew up in Australia. Her bestselling picture books include Goodnight, Mice! (illustrated by Judy Watson), the winner of the 2012 Prime Minister's Award for Children's Fiction; 2006 Children's Book Council of Australia Honour Book Kisses for Daddy (illustrated by David Legge); and 2008 Children's Book Council of Australia award-winner Parsley Rabbit's Book about Books (illustrated by David Legge). Her young adult title The Peony Lantern, set in nineteenth-century Japan, was shortlisted for a NSW Premier's Literary Award in 2016. For more, visit www.franceswatts.com

The first book in an exciting new trilogy, The Song of the Winns is a tale of courage, friendship and adventure.Ages 9-12.
'Alistair has been kidnapped!'Alex, Alice and Alistair think they are just three ordinary mice, until Alistair mysteriously vanishes. then Alex and Alice learn a secret about their family: a secret which means Alistair's life is in danger - unless Alex and Alice can find him first...So begins a hair-raising journey as Alex and Alice try to outrun enemy agents in a desperate race against time.'Spies!...Rebels!'Meanwhile, Alistair is astonished to find himself in a far-off land where everyone - except his new friend tibby Rose - is his enemy. But why? Pursued at every turn, the pair must try to unravel the mystery. And when they do, they discover that it is not only their own lives which are in peril...the future of an entire country is at stake.Says Frances Watts: 'When I first started writing the Song of the Winns, I set out to write the kind of book that I loved as a child: something fast paced and full of adventure, with characters that I would get to know and love. A book which was funny but could also move me. I wanted it to be a BIG story, too, a story to make the reader think-about power and its exercise, about responsibility, about injustice (the book was fast becoming a trilogy!). As Uncle Ebenezer says, 'All that is necessary for evil to prosper is for good mice to do nothing.'Ages 9-12.'...[Frances Watts] gives readers aged eight-plus a real treat as Alex and Alice follow a trail of treachery and deceit, laced with plenty of adventure, wisdom and humour, in their quest to rescue Alistair. this is a terrific read, delightfully illustrated, with more to come.' Five stars. Reviewers' top pick, BOOKSELLER & PUBLISHER