She has earned recognition for her books for children and youth, particularly her historical fiction and non-fiction works about African-American history.
She recognized both disinterest and lack of comprehensive reading skills in her students, so she set out on introducing topics via more entertaining means.
To help her students learn about these topics, she started to publish her young adult books about slavery and the War.
[6] Hansen has said that her writing is motivated by a drive to increase interest in reading among her students and others who are underrepresented in children's literature.
[14][15] Also with McGowan, Hansen wrote Freedom Roads (2003), a non-fiction account of the Underground Railroad, which Kirkus called "well-written, well-documented, imaginatively arranged".
[17] A New York Times review called the book "[m]eticulously researched" and "rich with detail, drama and intrigue".