Tatiara by Jo Oliver

New Frontier Publishing, 2010. ISBN 978 1921042225.
The young girl in this story wears a back brace and so cannot swim, something she wants with all her heart. She often sits by the water's edge, father owning a cafe in the small bay, and there she spies an injured dolphin. Sheltering in the bay while she heals, the dolphin and the girl become friendly as the girl fishes from the jetty to catch fish for the animal. The girl dreams of a time when the whales in the area were hunted, and she desperately wants to swim with her dolphin. When the doctor in the city allows her to remove her brace, the family all goes for a swim, and the girl swims with her dolphin friend, Tatiara.
Although a pleasant story, and one which early readers will enjoy, the illustrations lack substance. In an attempt to give a soft resolution to each page, the finished product simply looks incomplete and unconvincing.
Fran Knight