Hershey Bears assistant coach Bryan Helmer, who played 20 years of pro hockey and won three Calder Cups, knows all about hard work.

The former defenseman has been dazzled by the literary labors of his wife, Pam, and his sister-in-law, Kary Carkner. Kary Carkner is married to New York Islanders defenseman Matt Carkner.

The sisters have recently self-published an illustrated children’s book based on their character Hero the Hero.

“I’m definitely really proud of her and her sister for doing this,” Helmer said. “To see it come from writing on paper to a book is pretty impressive in how hard they’ve worked to get this far.

“It’s a great book. It has a lot of meaning in the book. It just shows how important family is and stuff like that.”

The title of the first book in what they hope to be an inspirational serial is “Hero’s Ho Ho Ho Hockey Dream.” The narrative revolves around hockey, Christmas and family.

“It’s basically just emphasizing on how anyone can be a hero,” Pam Helmer said. “Learning about everyday heroes. The hero in your family kind of thing.”

The inspiration for the book evolved from a family tragedy. The sisters’ father, Wayne Baker, died from a heart attack six years ago at 58.

“My whole family had a really hard time talking about things,” Pam Helmer said. “We didn’t know how to approach it with our children. So we just started to write little stories to try to be able to talk to the kids about it.”

They tried submitting the stories to publishers but were turned down because of the sad themes, Pam Helmer said. Hero the Hero emerged when they opted to switch gears to a more uplifting tone.

The sisters found a printer and illustrator and are spearheading their own marketing.

There is a Hero the Hero website and Facebook page. “Be a Hero,” a companion song to the book written with the help of a Canadian band called Skinner, is slated to be available on iTunes.

For Pam Helmer, there is pleasant irony in the fact that work began on the book in 2009-10, the season Bryan Helmer captained the Bears to a second straight Calder Cup, and she is again in Hershey as it reaches fruition.

“All of a sudden we’re back in Hershey and it’s a go and it’s just come full circle,” said Pam Helmer, noting that the Washington Capitals and NHL Winter Classic are both mentioned in the book. “It’s really crazy.

“I just can’t believe it’s all really happening. It’s a dream come true.”

A book signing in conjunction with a Bears game is planned, though it hasn’t yet been formally scheduled. Bears players are slated to read the book to patients at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, also at a date still to be determined.

Pam Helmer said two more Hero the Hero books already have been written but don’t have definitive publishing dates.

“We’re just basically seeing how this one goes and getting a feel for things,” she said. “We have done everything ourselves. We have learned a lot.”

Washington Capitals winger Eric Fehr, a member of Hershey’s 2005-06 Calder Cup team, published an anti-bullying children’s book of his own this year titled “The Bulliest Dozer.”

Bryan Helmer said the Islanders and Ottawa Senators have purchased copies of his wife’s book. One of the appeals to him is that the Hero the Hero character is gender neutral.

“When you look at it, it could be either a boy or a girl,” he said. “They don’t say if it’s a boy or girl. Maybe you think it’s a girl. Maybe I think it’s a boy. It has kind of a twist on it.

“What they want to do in the long run is get it out to schools. Everyone needs a hero in their life and everyone can be a hero. I think that’s kind of what they’re trying to get out there.”

To Bryan Helmer, his wife and sister-in-law are the Fabulous Baker Sisters.

“When she put it down on paper and showed me and stuff, I knew it was going to be a great story and a great point to the story, too,” Bryan Helmer said.

“Every single day I came home from the rink or during the summer, they’d talk on the phone, I bet you, half the day. On the computer. Back and forth. They just wanted the book to be perfect and I think it is.”