Area author wins award for children’s book

By Don Rush

Sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands. That’s what Amanda Krompetz discovered a few years ago.

The mother of two and part time dental hygienist wanted to bring a book to a baby shower versus just showing up and giving a card with money in it. “I wanted to give a dental book, because well, then they would think about me when they read it,” she said. “I couldn’t find one that I really liked. And, then when I had my son Clay I wanted an interactive dental book. I saw the kinds of books he was drawn to and I thought, why isn’t there a dental book that went through not only brushing your teeth, but flossing, and tooth eruption and eating healthy. So, I kept on getting this calling and I decided if it didn’t exist I was going to make it.”

The result was her first book, My Teeth: From Top To Bottom an interactive children’s book.

Krompetz, 35, and her husband Kyle and their children, Clayton, 5 and Cassidy, 2, have lived on Seymour Lake Road in Brandon Township (with an Oxford mailing address) since 2016.

“After the birth of our two kids, I had a couple of miscarriages and I just wanted something to dive into. I like the clinical work of dental hygiene but I always felt I could do more. So, why not try to write the book? I randomly started with my idea. I dove in and there was no turning back.”

She started writing down her ideas for the book in 2018 and had it completed and published by 2021. She said it was a “very” long process.

“I wanted a book that you could open and start counting the teeth and then talk about how to keep them healthy. A lot of the books Clay loved were colorful, with moving parts and with pictures and entertaining. I thought I kinda want to do that for a dental book. I made up a proposal and just started cold calling printers and publishers. I lost track of how many people I called. I just kept calling. Looking back I’m surprised that I just didn’t give up. But I didn’t and I finally found one who was excited to help me along the way,” she said.

The publisher is Archway Publishing out of Indiana. The next step was to find an illustrator.

“I didn’t even know how to do that,” she said.

Eventually she found an online website for freelance writers, graphic designers and illustrators.

“I found an illustrator from California whose work I really liked, Marli Renee. We worked real hard together. She really didn’t know anything about the dental world. I had to send pictures of what the kid’s teeth actually look like, what dental instruments look like, what things should be on the counter at a dentist’s office.”

She even sent a picture of her son, who is what the book’s main character looks like.

She said each page has something that either moves or something children can touch. “On each page there is also a hidden tooth fairy, but I don’t push that. I will leave it up to the parents how they want to deal with that. I wanted something kids could and would play with.”

Last month, she learned that because of her book, she had been chosen to receive the Hearts to Hands award from RDH Magazine, which celebrates those with a passion for the dental hygiene profession. In July, the magazine will fly her down to Nashville, TN to receive the award. “I am one of three recipients this year,” she said.

“My biggest thing was, I just wanted it completed and out there. I wanted it to be a resource. I donate it to local libraries and to schools.”