A Fish Called Bad Eyes: Finding Marsha’s Glasses

Our bespectacled fish reveals his curiosity and caution as he befriends both humans and ocean dwellers beneath the water’s surface. Ultimately, he brings together a community of Pacific Coast reef inhabitants to help save their homes. For many of the fish swimming in the Pacific reefs, a boat on the water’s surface signals “terror in the sky.” But when a young girl named Marsha loses her glasses over the side of one of these “floating islands,” they serendipitously land on the face of a speedy little “Manini” fish known as “Bad Eyes.” In a gesture of friendship, Marsha leaves her new finned acquaintance with this miraculous gift. From there, the detailed characters and action draw interest while his questioning dialogue weaves in an educational component that relays information about creature characteristics, habits, and the ocean’s decline in this magical and creative foray into the ocean realm of a myopic fish. Even a big-eyed, noodle-legged octopus brings a teachable moment, commenting that “beauty comes from what I can do, not how I look.” Character interactions are brought full circle with Marsha’s return in the final chapter, and the story ends on a positive note, teasing more adventures with Bad Eyes and Marsha to come.

A lifelong boater, Larry Golicz loves to fish, snorkel, scuba, and explore reefs and study their many inhabitants. A grandfather of five, the water continues to be a place for him and his grandchildren, who have inspired this story. Now retired, Larry has the luxury of writing stories, many of which he has told at campfires with his family. He loves to exemplify the wit and wisdom in behavior and survival of ourselves in the animal world. In the end, the moral of his stories is to learn about our world and to keep it the best place to live.