The Tale of Truthwater Lake: 'Absolutely gorgeous.' Hilary McKay

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She has been nominated for and is the winner of numerous national awards including the CILIP Carnegie Medal, Young Quills and the Waterstones Book Prize. The main characters are from dissimilar cultures, but their stories tell how their dreams and vulnerabilities are the same. Fans of Emma Carroll will lap this up – and, by taking a slightly different tack, I hope it will bring lots of new readers to her books.

I think I'll use it to emphasise to children how precious books are and how we should treat them as such. Nellie’s story gives life to a community which lost its home in the creation of a reservoir, so the irreversible consequences of environmental change also link these children past and present. It's a very obvious example of how the world around us is constantly changing and impacting on the natural world as it does so.

Bookplates are official labels which are signed by the author and then fixed to the title page of the book. Emma Carroll has written another winning tale that is highly recommended to readers of 9-12 and certainly will recommended to my colleagues in Ks 2 teaching .

Another cracking book from Emma Carroll who manages to strike the perfect balance between modern day and historical events. Once told by poet Ted Hughes her writing was ‘dangerous’, it took Emma Carroll twenty years of English teaching and a life-changing cancer diagnosis to feel brave enough to give her dream of being an author a try. Interleaved in the story is the background to how the reservoir was formed, displacing Nelly’s village and drowning her beautifully described home, as well as problems Polly’s older brother is having with bullying and an amazing friendship Nellie forms with Lena, an immigrant girl who has been sent to the coast for TB treatment.This review was written by Ann Alston Ann Alston has worked as a lecturer/senior lecturer in children's literature at the University of the West of England, Bristol for over 15 years. As the latch turns, she is dragged down into the lake and into 1952 to relive the last months of the drowned village.

Find out about the latest book in the 'Girl, Missing' series, Secret Sister, in this short video by author Sophie McKenzie. When they arrive they find the lake has begun to dry up and some secrets of the past are revealed where the valley is exposed, it’s only at the deepest part that some water remains. It is a fascinating insight into a different time but one where the importance of good friendships and a sense of belonging match those of children today and indeed in 2032. Whilst on holiday, Polly notices that the water in the lake has evaporated and her aunt tells her that the lake is covering a lost village.This will make an enjoyable, informative and unforgettable independent read, but it would make an even better whole class read for Upper Key Stage Two. The story evolves around the summer period when Polly and her brother go to stay with their aunt and discover the tale of a newarby village that was immersed underwater in the 1950s and the creation of a reservoir.