book report on the secret lake

The Secret Lake by Karen Inglis

Author Showcase

By Karen Inglis, for The Children’s Book Review Published: October 29, 2011

The Secret Lake is a ‘time-slip’ mystery adventure, set in one of London’s Notting Hill communal garden squares, in which Stella and Tom, when trying to find their elderly neighbour’s missing dog, discover a tunnel that leads to a secret lake. Who is the boy rowing towards them who looks so terrified? And whose are those children’s voices carried on the wind from beyond the trees? Stella and Tom soon discover that they have travelled back in time to their home and its shared gardens 100 years in the past where they meet the children living there. As the story unravels the children make both friends and enemies and become embroiled in a daring rescue plan. They also uncover some startling connections between the past and present….

The Secret Lake has a strong mix of contemporary and historical characters and settings,  all vividly – and often humorously – portrayed, and enough twists, turns and secrets-to-be-uncovered to keep young readers hooked right until the end. It’s exactly the type of adventure we all liked to curl up with as children, but with modern twists. You can order it from Amazon.com ($7.99) or in Kindle format ($2.01).

5-Star Reviews at home and abroad

The Secret Lake has received 5 Stars from Louise Jordan, ex Head Reader at Puffin and co-founder of The Writers’ Advice Centre for Children’s Books, a respected children’s books UK literary consultancy. It has also received 5 stars from an Amazon.com Top 10 Reviewer in the USA. The children’s reviews on Amazon and the book’s website speak for themselves!

Find out more at The Secret Lake website www.thesecretlake.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Inglis lives in south-west London, UK. She started writing children’s stories 12 years ago when her two boys (now rugby-mad teenagers!) were knee-high. The Secret Lake was one of the first stories she wrote and, until January 2011, it sat in a virtual drawer while Karen got on with her day job as a professional copywriter and web content strategist consulting to government.

Fast forward 10 years and, currently on a sabbatical from the day job since January, Karen has been busy polishing and editing her favourites from the stories she wrote back then. After The Secret Lake comes ‘Eeek!’ about a soccer-mad alien who runs away to Earth from space – look out for it soon!

Karen Inglis: +44 2088563 2224 / +44 7958 060 748 or kareninglis[at]wellsaidpress[dot]com

The Author Showcase is a place for authors and illustrators to gain visibility for their works. This article was provided by the author. Learn more …

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Bianca Schulze is the founder of The Children’s Book Review. She is a reader, reviewer, mother and children’s book lover. She also has a decade’s worth of experience working with children in the great outdoors. Combined with her love of books and experience as a children’s specialist bookseller, the goal is to share her passion for children’s literature to grow readers. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, she now lives with her husband and three children near Boulder, Colorado.

Dear Karen,

Hi, I’m Jessica Tedone, 8 years old and Ijust read your book. I really enjoyed The Secret Lake. I loved the hysterical adjectives you used in some of the pages. It was kind of funny where they meet the Emma in the time-tunnel and Emma in the time where tom and Stella where living. Love Jessica❤️❤️ 🐳🐳💖💖💕💕😊😊

Dear Karen, I really enjoyed The Secret Lake. I loved the hysterical adjectives you used in some of the pages. It was kind of funny where they meet the Emma in the time-tunnel and Emma in the time where tom and Stella where living. Love Jessica❤️❤️ 🐳🐳💖💖💕💕😊😊

Dear Jessica — I am *so* sorry not to have replied to you sooner. Another children’s author (Jemma Hatt – do look her up!) has very kindly just told me about your comment, which somehow I didn’t get a notification about. Thank you so much for letting me know how much you enjoyed The Secret Lake! I spent so many days, weeks and months working on this story and it such a joy and so special that so many children in the UK/US and beyond are now enjoying it! Keep reading, and I hope you find more adventures to enjoy 😊 Karen

Dear Karen, I really enjoyed your book The Secret Lake. I loved how you used descriptive words and adjectives in your sentences! It was funny and a good book, I would recommend this to my friends! 😀 Please keep writing! .💖😊💖

I don’t know if you will see this message, but I have only just (18 months too late!) seen your very kind words about The Secret Lake. I’m so glad you enjoyed it and that you enjoyed the humour and the descriptions! 😊 Just so you know, there will be a sequel coming out in the first part of 2022 and I’ve had great fun meeting with Stella and Tom and the other characters again — as well as a few new ones. If you’d like to know when the sequel is out visit my website kareninglisauthor.com to find out more. I hope you have found many more adventures to get lost in since you wrote to me last year! With very best wishes, Karen 📚 😊 ❤️

This was a very good book, one of the best that I have ever read and I would recommend all ages to read your novels. You are a amazing author.

Arunveer Grewal

Hello, Arunveer

I have only just come across your message about how much you enjoyed The Secret Lake. I am so sorry for not seeing it sooner!! Thank you so much for your very kind words and I’m really glad you enjoyed Stella and Tom’s adventure. Just so you know, there is a sequel coming out in early 2022 😊. I will be announcing the date in my newsletter if you’d like to keep up to date 🙂 An adult can sign up over on my website kareninglisauthor.com I hope you have found many more adventures to get lost in since last March! Keep on reading! With best wishes, Karen Inglis

Hi Karen, I’m 13 and I know I’m a little old for this book but I and my book group read this, very easy to understand and had great unexpected plot twists. I really enjoyed it!

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Book reviews, novel progress, and other writing related musings.

Book Review – The Secret Lake

Karen inglis’s  the secret lake.

Description

Discovering a rowboat’s buried hull in a garden, two siblings embark on an adventure they still hardly believe.

Recently moved from Japan to London, Stella and Tom haven’t quite settled in comfortably – Stella misses her best friend, and Tom keeps getting into trouble with the Gardener. In the communal garden behind their new home, Tom digs for moles, and the gardener angrily chastises him. But when they follow the neighbor’s runaway dog to a different part of the garden, Tom’s digging turns up a whole rowboat, and they stumble upon a tunnel that takes them back in time to the very same garden.

They are quickly thrown headlong into a journey of discovery rife with excitement, mystery, and surprise.

I acquired this book for free, through a library box that provides free books to anyone for personal use (essentially a Little Free Library). There was no agreement with the author, publisher, or any third party that I would publish a review. The following review is unsolicited, unbiased, and all opinions are my own.

Review – Spoiler Free

I had heard a podcast interview with Inglis some time ago and was interested in how she had built a following by leveraging the book’s back matter to encourage young readers to submit reviews on her website. I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon the very book in a Little Free Library style book box, and I brought it home to read with our kids.

It is a good read that – despite having to explain a few British terms – the kids and I were able to easily follow, and enjoy through to the end. Inglis writes in a relaxed style that helps the story flow easily, chapters are short with endings that have just enough suspense to keep you reading, while not leaving you devastated and hanging.

There is a mystery that Stella and Tom drop into when they go back in time, and it is explained well within the story, not pausing for an info drop. Characters are fun and relatable, but also not heavily fleshed out.

I came across a few parts that needed a side bar explanation with our kids – situations where a character we are meant to trust lies, or when someone is blindly trusting of a stranger. These can easily be glossed over or brushed by, but they definitely caused us to pause.

Overall, The Secret Lake was a good read, we all enjoyed the story, and I will be happy to keep the copy we have to read again.

Tom had made his mind up, and there would be no stopping him. The Secret Lake , Karen Inglis

• Quality of Writing – 4
• World Building – 3
• Characters – 3
• Ease of Reading – 4
• Appropriate for Intended Age (Middle Grade, ages 6-12; could be read to Kindergarten age) – 5
• Overall Enjoyment – 3
• Final Rating – 4 (Actual: 3.7) – Really Liked It

Want to learn more about the numbers I use for rating, and the qualities I’m thinking about when writing a book review? Check out my post  How I Rate and Review .

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Home / Find a book / The Secret Lake

The Secret Lake

By Karen Inglis

A lost dog, a hidden time tunnel and a secret lake take Stella and Tom to their home and the children living there 100 years in the past. A page-turning time travel adventure for children aged 8-11. Now enjoyed by over 250,000 young readers! When Stella and her younger brother, Tom, move to their new London home, they become mystified by the disappearances of Harry, their elderly neighbour’s dog. Where does he go? And why does he keep reappearing wet-through? Their quest to solve the riddle over the summer holidays soon leads to a boat buried under a grassy mound – and a tunnel that takes them to a secret lake. Who is the boy rowing towards them? Why is he so terrified? And whose are those children’s voices carried on the wind from beyond the woods? Stella and Tom soon discover that they have travelled back in time to their home and its gardens almost 100 years earlier. Here they make both friends and enemies and uncover startling connections between the past and present. The Secret Lake has been described by readers as a modern Tom’s Midnight Garden and compared in atmosphere with The Secret Garden and the Enid Blyton and Nancy Drew mystery adventure stories. Its page-turning plot, with its many twists and turns, makes it a firm favourite with both boys and girls.

Karen Inglis describes it as: ""a time travel mystery adventure with modern twists – the kind of story that I loved to read as a child, but brought right up to date"".

Creepy, entertaining and suitable for Year 6

The book was amazing. It was sad when Mrs Moon died. My favourite character was Stella. I would recommend this book for someone else.I wish I could go though the time tunnel.

This Was The Best Book

Enjoyed this fiction book. A great adventure with some danger as well as right and wrong dilemmas. The sibling protagonists are brave and true. Nicely rounded ending.

A lovely short story. Would recommend to ages 7-9 years.

This might sound weird but the book is so secret

I love chapter 4 page 76-77-78-79-80

It was not the best book I've read but it was ok. I love it most when Stella and Tom discover the tunnel to the secret lake. My favourite character is Stella because she is a kind, caring, loving girl. I might recommend this book to someone who likes a little adventure.

I found it harder to get into this book but when I did I really enjoyed it

I liked this book and I think that is was a good book but not all the chapters got me stuck into the book because they were not as exciting as the rest. My favourite character was Jack. I would definitely recommend this book to other people as it is an fun, exciting read.

I really liked the book because I like adventure stories.

The Secret Lake is a mix of fantasy and adventure and is focused around 2 children who travel back in time through. mole holes. Suitable for readers aged 8+. Inglis keeps the momentum of the story going through twists and turns through out the story and interweaving characters through both the present day and the past that they children travel back to. Inglis drops clues throughout the text that more confident readers will be able to draw on to start to make the connections and make informed predictions about what will happen. The story follows two children who have recently moved back to the UK and are living in environment very different to their previous hime, where they have a communal garden and most of their neighbours are elderly. One neighbour has a dog, Harry, who regularly goes missing. Harry is key character in the story as is his owner as the children soon discover when they start entering the tunnel! The children are very wary of the hardener who appears grumpy and to dislike them playing in the garden. However, they soon understand why this is so ! I would recommenced this to those who enjoy adventure with a time-travelling experience via a portal with a slice of history thrown in for good measure. !

I thought it was a great book but one thing i disliked about it is that it was a very short story and i would off liked story to be a little bit longer because it had room for the author to add more detail and more characters. The book was a great fiction book and my favorite character was tom because he was eager to find out more.I would recommend this book to some who likes adventure and mystery books.

It is absolutely amazing and it’s so thrilling! My favourite character in this book is Emma because of her kind nature even though she is posh. I would highly recommend this book to everyone who loves adventure and magical books. Its not really long but it has a good amount of thrill in the book.

Lovely book that reminded me of Tom’s Midnight Garden. The story was well written and the characters engaging.

Fiction, exciting and full of mystery

I liked this book a lot, it was really fun to read and really enjoyable. This was about a girl and boy who discover this tunnel and spend a whole day and night there. Inside the tunnel is a different period of time and the children find out who lives in their house. They nearly always get caught by this man but eventually find out he and the elderly woman nextdoor know that there's a secret hidden tunnel and see the boy and girl going down. My favourite character was Stella because she was very brave and was one of the main characters in the book. I would definitely recommend this to other children aged 8+ and children who love mysteries and just general fun!

I loved this book just because …it was amazing I would recommend this book to my best friend.

Excellent read! It keeps the reader excited throughout the adventure of the children who go back in time. I loved Mrs Moon's character she keeps a secret until the very end and then all is revealed. This is a must read for 8+

It was good because a brother and sister went on an adventure back in time. I couldn't put the book down as I wanted to know what happens next. I loved Mrs Moon because she was the little girl when they went back in time. I would recommend this book to 8+ years

It was an amazing book! It had lots of events and surprising events. It has to be one of my top the books that I've ever read. I really recommend this book to people who like adventure storys. The ending was surprising but really good.

Tom and Stella find a hole in their back garden that leads into the past. Down there, they meet Sophie and Emma , who are sisters . Tom and Stella help a boy called jack (who is accused of being a thief) and find out that mrs moon (their neighbour ) is actually Emma ! I really recommend this book if you like time travel and adventure.

A magical adventure I would recommend this book to others.

I didnt really like the book. it is not my style. There were 2 children that went back in time, which was the good part, but then the book got boring. I wouldnt recommend this because i found it boring.

I would definitely recommend it to others.My favourite character was Tom for being brave and going back down the hole to save jack.It was very good and it kept me interested all the way through.It was absolutely brilliant

A mini mystery that leaves you wanting to read more about the lives of the characters you discover. Set in the Victorian age and the present day follow the adventures of two young children who discover how to move between the two ages.

This was a great book. There was so much mystery and it was a very warm-hearted book. I would recommend this book to people who love predicting what is going to happen next. There are lots of cliff hangers!

i liked that the book went back in time and made friends in the past and found them in there

Absolutely amazing! A teacher at my school had lent me this book and I thought it was just great. My favourite character was Tom as he was always was adventurous and reminded me of one of my friends. This book is utterly stunning and I would recommend this amazing book to all ages

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Words and Reviews

The word, wordprompts, and opinions on books, children’s book review: the secret lake, by karen inglis, and read by the author.

• Length: 2 hrs and 34 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 06-29-19
• Language: English
• Publisher:  Well Said Press

An Audiobook review by Jackie Houchin

Stella and her younger brother Tom, are curious about why their neighbor’s dog keeps disappearing and reappearing dripping wet and determine to solve the mystery. With the help of some very unusual animals, they discover a cave-like wormhole into a place one hundred years before. They meet children who lived in their present-day house long ago.

While there, Stella and Tom help to right a wrong involving a boy who is hunted as a thief, and then barely make it back home before the “entrance” closes. While they were there, they left some present-day items.  Back at home, it is really cool to see how these are returned 100 years later.

It reminded me a lot of The Secret Garden and even Alice Through the Looking Glass, but with no fantastical characters.

It’s a grand story for kids to read and dream of how it would be to find such a secret place themselves. It also teaches kids not to pre-judge others, and to love and respect elderly people.

It is beautifully read by the author.

41/2 stars.

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The Secret Lake

By karen inglis.

When Stella and her younger brother, Tom, move to their new London home, they become mystified by the disappearances of Harry, their elderly neighbour’s small dog. Where does he go? And why does he keep reappearing wet-through? Who is the boy rowing towards them who looks so terrified? And whose are those children’s voices carried on the wind from beyond the woods? Stella and Tom soon discover that they have travelled back in time to their home and its gardens almost 100 years earlier.

Karen Inglis The Secret Lake

Mrs Moon dog keeps going missing, 2 children find where he is going but how come their at there house but someone different lives there.

This book made me feel Happy, Excited, Curious, Intrigued, Amused, Moved, pondering

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The Secret Lake

Home » Book Resources » Upper Key Stage 2 » The Secret Lake

The Secret Lake by Karen Inglis

When Stella and her younger brother, Tom, move to their new London home, they become mystified by the disappearances of Harry, their elderly neighbour’s dog. Where does he go? And why does he keep reappearing wet-through? Their quest to solve the riddle over the summer holidays soon leads to a boat buried under a grassy mound – and a tunnel that takes them to a secret lake. Who is the boy rowing towards them? Why is he so terrified? And whose are those children’s voices carried on the wind from beyond the woods? Stella and Tom soon discover that they have travelled back in time to their home and its gardens almost 100 years earlier. Here they make both friends and enemies and uncover startling connections between the past and present.

Main Focus: Comprehension - Chapter 1

Your Year 5 / Year 6 class will complete this comprehension after reading Chapter One of The Secret Lake.

We have organised the questions into Retrieval, vocabulary and Inference and you can choose which resource best suits your Ks2 class. 

Main Focus: Vocabulary - Chapter 4

This resource focuses on the vocabulary in chapter 4 of The Secret Lake,

Your class will use the book, word bank or choices to complete the sentences. You can also instruct your class to use words of their choice.

Main Focus: Character Study

This resource for KS2 is linked to chapter 5 and character study.

Your class will answer questions and find evidence of statements about the characters.

Main Focus: Non-Fiction - Moles

Moles are a type of mammal which belong to the Talpidae family.  They are found across North America, Europe and Asia and are often viewed as pests because of the damage they cause to gardens and agricultural land.  They were previously hunted for their pelts, which were used to make trousers, gloves and hats.

This non-fiction resource for KS2 focuses on moles and includes a comprehension. 

Main Focus: Formal and Informal Language

This resource focuses on chapter 7 in The Secret Lake and the formal and informal language used.

Your class will copy these pieces of dialogue, changing the informal language to formal language.

Main Focus: Comprehension - Chapter 10

In this resource, your class will read chapter 10 of The Secret Lake and answer the questions.

We have differentiated this resource for Year 5 and Year 6 and included a range of question types.

Main Focus: Words - Chapter 12

In this activity, your class will write the word class, a synonym and an antonym, and what they think the underlined word means in the context of the sentence.

This resource is based on chapter 12 of The Secret Lake book.

Main Focus: Inference - Chapter 15

We have created a resource entirely on inference.

Your Year 5 / Year 6 class will answer the questions using the chapter as a reference point from the book.

Main Focus: Suffixes - Chapter 17

For each of the root words, your class will add any suffixes that can be used to alter the word (E.g. happy – happiness, happily, happier, happiest).

They will then complete the sentences from Chapter 17 using words which contain a suffix.

Main Focus: Figurative Language (Whole Book)

Throughout the book, the author of The Secret Lake uses figurative language – similes and metaphors – to describe things. 

A SIMILE says something is LIKE something else and a METAPHOR says something IS something else.

Your class will complete the sentences from the book using an appropriate simile or metaphor from the word bank.

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The Secret Lake, by Karen Inglis, for Timeslip Tuesday

I guess persistence doesn't always pay off. Digging through all those books just to find a mediocre one must be frustrating. Maybe the next find will be a gem. Thanks for telling me about this one.

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SIMILAR ITEMS (based on metadata)

The Secret Lake

• 1: The Gardener
• 2: Beneath The Mound
• 3: Dawn Escape
• About Chapters 4 -18
• How to order
• ADD OR READ REVIEWS
• The Secret Lake Crossword Puzzle
• Puzzle – the answers!
• VIEW MY OTHER BOOKS (over on my author website)

*5 Stars on Amazon UK /USA,  Goodreads and Waterstones* *5 Stars from book loving 8-11 yr-old children :) See the reviews page of this website * *5 Stars from The Writers’ Advice Centre for Children’s Books, London, UK*

😊  The Secret Lake books 1-3  📚

📚  I am delighted to confirm that both  Return to the Secret Lake (March 2022) and Beyond the Secret Lake (January 2024) are now out! 📚 

 For both books, it was such a joy to reconnect with the original characters (who had been waiting very patiently for me!) and meet a few new ones… 

❤️ 😊 Read Book 2 reviews on Amazon 😊 

❤️ 😊 Read early reviews of Book 3 reviews on Amazon 😊 

😊   Over half a million copies sold of Book 1 in the English language. 😊 📚  Now in translation in 13 other languages.📚

📚 Join my occasional newsletter to be the first to know when my next book is out. 😊

When Stella and her younger brother, Tom, move to their new London home, they become mystified by the disappearances of Harry, their elderly neighbour’s small dog. Where does he go? And why does he keep reappearing wet-through?

Their quest to solve the riddle over the summer holidays leads to a boat buried under a grassy mound – and a tunnel that takes them to a secret lake.

Who is the boy rowing towards them who looks so terrified? And whose are those children’s voices carried on the wind from beyond the woods?

Stella and Tom soon discover that they have travelled back in time to their home and its gardens almost 100 years earlier. Here they make both friends and enemies, and uncover startling connections between the past and present…

Go to Chapter 1

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Karen Inglis ~ Children's Books

Well Said Press

Return to the Secret Lake (8-12 yrs)

Following many requests from children and adults over the years for a sequel to The Secret Lake I am thrilled to say that Return to the Secret Lake came out in March 2022, and that fans of book one have been giving it a strong thumbs up in the US, UK and beyond!

In this page-turning sequel we see Lucy come forward in time in search of a cure for Emma who has fallen dangerously ill. Of course, things are never straightforward where time tunnels and magical moles are concerned — and so unfolds a thrilling tale of time travel, rekindled friendships and new threats that no one could have foreseen.

Click on the back page cover image lower down the page to read the full blurb. 😊

Coming in at just over 50,000 words the new book is approximately twice the length of the first. I began initial planning in August 2022 then drafted in September and October, with edits and updates made over the following six weeks. (In fact, I began the first edits in November during a writer’s retreat with friends in an Edwardian country house in rural Surrey, where we had a ghost in one of the rooms! I shall be writing separately about that — do ask me at school visits!)

It was such a pleasure to reconnect with the original characters (who had been waiting incredibly patiently!), and to meet with a few new ones in both the past and the present. I also thoroughly enjoyed researching the social fabric of Edwardian London, which provides the backdrop for much of the action in the story — and had particular fun bringing Lucy forward in time and seeing our modern world through her eyes.

Most of all I fell back in love with writing from the children’s perspective: Stella and Tom from the present, and Emma, Lucy and other key characters in past time. It is the children who drive the plot in this story as they face huge challenges and unforeseen threats. Tempting though it might have been to have adults help along the way, this book is once again about the power of the children’s loyalty and friendship across time — and the ends to which they are prepared to go to look out for each other. I do hope your children and pupils enjoy the ride!

I shall be updating this page in due course with links to my research into life in early 1900s London, and putting together resources for teachers. Please sign up to my newsletter if you’d like to be notified when those resources are available.

Visit BookMonster.ie to watch Méabh’s advance reader review

A sneak peek of Chapters 1-3

As you’ve come this far, I expect I’ve piqued your interest, and by way of thank you below is a sneak peek of the opening three chapters of Return to the Secret Lake .

Click to read as you would a magazine on your desktop — you can also use the icons under the image to expand the page to full screen, or download it in PDF form. Alternatively, tap the icons to read it on your phone or tablet in book format. Please feel free to share with friends!

(Please note that this extract is from the uncorrected proof copy so there may be the odd typo or spacing issue in there. Also please note that I use British English spelling throughout.)

If you buy and enjoy Return to the Secret Lake it would be wonderful if you could take a moment to help your child leave a review online if they enjoy it. And do tag me if you post about it on social media and I will share.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy the extract!

The Secret Lake 3

Updated 7th January 2024 – Book 3 Beyond the Secret Lake is here! Follow this link to find out more about this latest adventure!

Happy reading in the meantime 😊.

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• Self-Pub 101

• 9781913846077 1913846075

Plot:  Book two of the Secret Lake Mystery series returns to 1900s London for an enticing time travel adventure. The worldbuilding effectively establishes the magical dimensions of the story, allowing readers to become fully immersed in the narrative.

Prose:  Inglis's prose seamlessly captures the London setting, while dialogue and descriptions come across as authentic to both the modern and historical eras.

Originality:  Return to Secret Lake integrates a unique set of circumstances for its characters, who forge a powerful connection that transcends time.

Character/Execution:  Inglis establishes a sense of urgency for her characters, making their motivations and behaviors believable and authentic. Readers will eagerly follow Stella, Tom, Emma, Lucy, and Jack as they deepen their friendships and travel between eras.

Date Submitted: April 27, 2022

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