Sky Castle (Jody Bergsma Collection)
Though Sky Castle is the first book for Minnesota resident Sandra Hanken, she’s no stranger to the world of children.  She has been an elementary school teacher, crisis shelter worker, parenting educator, and is currently a family social worker.For many years, Sandra aspired to write "a book that would encourage their belief in themselves and their abilities."  One January night, she awoke with the words, "Let’s build a castle in the sky.  We’ll build a castle you and I."  When the rest the poem came a few days later, she knew that Jody Bergsma would be the perfect choice to illustrate her story.Surrounded by woods and wildlife, Sandra and her husband live in their country home near the town of Chisholm, Minnesota.  They have two grown children.When she received the Sky Castle poem, Jody Bergsma immediately knew she wanted to illustrate it.  "Making dreams come true is a recurring theme in my paintings," she says.  Jody began her artistic career at the age of three after her mother suggested she draw her nightmares.  Soon she discovered that monsters drawn in pink and green crayon were not so scary.By her mid-teens, Jody was selling her fanciful works of art to an appreciative public.  Now, three decades later Jody’s original paintings, limited edition prints, and artistic clothing and gift items are sold internationally in gift stores and galleries.