About the Creators
Dr. Mehta was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota May 15, 1965. Her grandfather, Dr. Fred Duimstra, delivered her. She comes from a hard working German, Dutch, and Scottish mix. She attended Augustana College in Sioux Falls, medical school at the University of South Dakota, and dermatology training at the University of Wisconsin where she had been faculty since 1997.
This is her first children’s book, which she wrote with her two children over a long, cold Wisconsin winter. The idea came when the children were losing their teeth. Dr. Mehta asked her children what it felt like to lose teeth; hence, the “pinchy, tickly” feeling. That winter, discoveries of the year included the finding of a prehistoric angel shark. “Hammie and I wrote out the story on our way to India after exploring the flow of the children’s typical day, basing the characters on friends, teachers, and family. The school did used to send home the lost teeth in those little boxes, too,” says Dr. Mehta. Gramma Lee is no longer physically with us, but she is always present in other ways.
Dr. Mehta was introduced to Ms. Krznarich, who illustrated the story with her over the next winter. There were numerous meetings at the student Union, and a lot of arm work involved as Liz developed the artwork line by line, colored pencil by colored pencil.
“Liz and I love the end result of a cooperative brainstorming, creative, artistic, joyful experience. We hope you enjoy this story as much as we enjoyed the process of creating it!”
- Cynthia Mehta, MD July 14, 2005
Liz Krznarich is a graphic designer who lives in Madison, WI.
Originally hailing from the booming metropolis of New London, WI, she made her way to the ‘big city’ to study art and business at the University of Wisconsin. Just before her senior year of college, Liz met up with Dr. Mehta, and began illustrating the adventures of Angel and her friends. Many months and quite a few colored pencils later, Liz is excited to see her first foray into illustration come to life.
When not busy at her drawing table, Liz is an avid runner and enjoys participating in local races. She also likes to spend time cooking and plotting new ways to take the graphic design world by storm.
- Elizabeth Krznarich July 14, 2005
