'Fishing' for New Ghosts
Ricky MacDougall, one of Cooper MacDougall's twin boys, had a strong love of goldfish, an uncanny ability to win them as a prize at county fairs, but an absolute ineptitude for keeping them alive. After holding countless tearful, toilet-side funerals for the goldfish - and as a way to distract Ricky from asking for new goldfish - MacDougall created the 'floating eyes' baby ghosts in jars to represent the dearly departed pets. "Seeing my fish re-born into baby ghosts might seem creepy now," says a grown up Ricky, "but at the time it helped me see that I'm just not a pet person."
Cooper MacDougall
Cooper MacDougall is a writer and illustrator best known for his "Spooky Ghost" series of children's books. His work has garnered several awards, including the Meekersville Municipal Prize for Publishing and the Maltese Medal for Children's Literature (for which he had to interrupt his vacation to receive his award - his wife was completely furious).