The winners of The Farshore Reading for Pleasure Teacher Awards 2023, highlighting the work schools are doing to encourage a love of reading, have... Author Guy Bass introduces SCRAP, about one robot who tried to protect the humans on his planet against an army of robots. Now the humans need his... This someone is Nellie, taken in by an older couple when her mum passed away. Nellie is kept company by Lena who is recuperating in the country after tuberculosis. Nellie and Lena have become the very best of friends. But news of bad weather is coming, and Dad is coming to get them. Polly is torn. She has to know what's going to happen to Nellie and Lena. Partly because it made sense to, in the context of a hot summer, a dried up reservoir, and a village emerging from the water. And partly because it's a reminder of the price we pay for progress. 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.

Polly's keen to swim in the lake, but it has shrunk so much that she can see the old town of Syndercombe, which was drowned to form the reservoir decades before. That night, to escape the heat, Polly goes swimming and finds herself being pulled down, down... into a sunny churchyard.It's a really intriguing moment in history where things could've gone so badly wrong. It's also a very good example of diplomacy in action: Robert Kennedy and his Russian counterpart talked their way out of the conflict. Because of American airbases on British soil, we would've been drawn into any war with Russia, so the situation was perilous for us, too. The main surprise for me was how close we came to actual war. Some of the sources now made public would've been top secret at the time, and certainly make for chilling reading!" Nellie is an excellent swimmer in her area, and with Lena at her side Nellie tries out for an amazing opportunity. A wealthy man is keen to sponsor and train a child to be the very first child to swim the Channel between England and France. Nellie is devastated when a boy she's never met before is chosen over her, and the disappointment just won't leave her. Again, with Lena by her side, another opportunity arises.

I've also been long fascinated by how whole villages were cleared to build reservoirs, and how, in dry summers, the ruins of these drowned villages can, rather spookily, emerge. Truthwater Lake is the result of trying to weave these inspirations together. It's during an illicit swim in the lake that Poilly finds a door handle that transports her to another time period - the 1930s where she becomes Nellie - who dreams of swimming the English Channel. It's through Nellie's eyes that we learn about her friends Nate and Lena and just what happened to the village that Nellie calls home. Having a lie-in ( I'm totally rubbish at getting up early!), walking my dogs, going to the seaside, visiting my mum and dad who live about 10 miles away. My husband is a brilliant cook, and like me, a lifelong vegetarian, so we'll often end the day with a big supper! Polly can understand Nellie's worries, but she has some of her own in 2032. Her own best friend has ignored her for weeks after an argument, and her big brother Joel is acting strangely. Surprising news comes from home and Joel finally tells her what's wrong. The heat makes everything harder and Polly is always keen to return under the water to 1952's Nellie. At least they're not her own problems. Carroll has created believable characters and text that draws you in. Each chapter ending, leaving the reader wanting more.

Your debut children's book, Frost Hollow Hall, was published by Faber Children's Books a decade ago. How does it feel to have reached this milestone as a children's writer? Nellie lives in Syndercombe in the winter of 1952. She loves open water swimming and dreams of crossing the English Channel. When a champion swimmer visits her club, she realises she just might have a chance – unless a new boy and his family succeed in taking everything away from her. Nellie isn’t the only one with a dream. Each character in this powerful story longs for something more. Their actions reveal just how important it is to have dreams and not hesitate to pursue them. Due to the excessive heat, Truthwater Lake is drying up, revealing the remains of the old village of Syndercombe which was flooded in the early 1950s to make a reservoir to supply water. Drawn to the sight of the old church under the water, Polly swims towards it, her feet touching the roof tiles … and finds herself in a past time where she is Nellie Foster. With the two narratives seamlessly switching and echoing each other, this is a compelling story with themes of courage and true friendship. Emma Carroll's sublime storytelling enthrals and grips the reader once again.

The past in the book is the 1950s, which is a fairly recent period. What stood out for you about this time and when you were researching it? But Truthwater Lake is beginning to dry up. As the water level diminishes, a lost village emerges. Swimming over the rooftops at midnight, Polly dives down and is suddenly able to breathe, to hear church bells and bird song . . . Polly has discovered an underwater gateway . . . to the past! About This Edition ISBN: Buy from our bookstore and 25% of the cover price will be given to a school of your choice to buy more books. *15% of eBooks. Home > Having the time to fully commit to it. There's much more to being an author than writing books: to be able to go to schools and festivals and meeting readers is one of my favourite things to do. Also, let's not underestimate the pleasures of working at home, in your pyjamas, surrounded by dogs and tea and toast... It’s the near-future and Britain is having yet another heatwave. Of course, the government have put in the normal curfews for this kind of weather, and shops are forced to shut again. For Polly, it’s the sort of heat that makes her do wild, out-of-character things just to cool down.

In The Tale of Truthwater Lake, Britain is struggling with an on going heatwave which is considered to be a danger to life and so a curfew is in place. Polly and her brother Joel are sent to stay with their Aunt, who lives near the lake. One night Polly takes a dip in the lake and discovers the lost village. What follows is a mesmerising tale into the past with connections to the future. A thought provoking tale with an environmental message deeply rooted in its heart.