SIMON Bartram's previous book, Bob, Man On The Moon, was shortlisted for an award.

It turns out Bob's cousin Dougal is the adventurous type too, and if there is any justice his underwater odyssey will bag Bartram a prize.

From the dedication: "For my mother, who is partial to a nice bit of cod" - to the last line: "How many fish did you count?" (there are dozens), this has something, in the words of The Sun's dictum, to "surprise and amaze on every page".

Dougal is a bored, bowler-hatted rail commuter whose diary reveals how he yearns for his holiday.

He is going scuba diving, and the moment he back-flips overboard we enter the ocean paradise with him.

Although the diary entries are concise (and funny), five-year-old Jack and I took our time turning each page because we were submerged in the fantasy.

There is so much to see in Simon's sea, including mermaids, mystery monsters, giant whales and treasure maps.

Each picture is a work of art, full of colour, character and other-worldliness. Readers can spend all day looking at the Atlantis cityscape and still not spot everything.

This is a delight, and because Dougal has red hair and a matching beard, it allowed me to try out my "cod" Scottish accent. Which was very fishy.

Updated: 09:18 Wednesday, August 04, 2004