Sanderson's earliest works were published in her mid-twenties: Grandma's Beach Surprise by Ilka List (G. P. Putnam's Sons) in 1975 and four including an edition of The Little Engine That Could in 1976.

[2] The latter was discussed at the time in terms of how the art reflected "the stereotypes of masculine strength and feminine weakness in vogue when it was written".

[3] She illustrated new editions of several young-adult novels in the Nancy Drew and Bobbsey Twins mystery series.

[2] Library of Congress (LC) Catalog credits Sanderson as a writer primarily for retelling fairy tales, along with some stories from the Bible or about Christmas or about saints.

In the catalog her earliest works as a writer are two published in 1990, a retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses"[4][5] and an original fairy tale, The Enchanted Wood (Little, Brown, LCCN 90-45096).