This story of a father and son fishing trip was funny and heartwarming. Funny because the father was more inept than the son though it was the son's first real fishing trip, and heartwarming because both the father and the son bonded over the experience. ( )

I had great hopes for "Old Salt, Young Salt". The Bodega Bay setting and the fact that it was a picture book about fishing made it seem like a good bet for my "Agriculture of California" books. Besides, I enjoyed some of Jonathan London books that I have read in the past ("The Eyes of Gray Wolf" and "Hurricane") However, this book just didn't cut it for me. In the story, a boy and his (formerly in the navy) dad go out fishing. The boy gets sulky because the dad wouldn't let his son help carry the boat into the water. The dad barfs when the boat becomes too rocky because the two are trying to get away from a gray whale. After the boy catches a chinook salmon (once again with no help from the bumbling dad) the "Old Salt" allows the "Young Salt" to steer the boat into shore. The fact that the dad was seasick became the focal point of this story, not the act of fishing. The double-page pictures by Todd Doney were beautiful...realistic, large and very BLUE, just like the Pacific Ocean. ( )