Q&A with Deana Plaskon

  

 

Deana Plaskon is the author of the new children's picture book Bella and Bird Explore Sadness. She also has written the book Bella and Bird Explore Anger. She is an educator and a mental health expert. 

 

Q: Why did you decide to write about sadness in your new Bella and Bird picture book?

 

A: Sadness is something every child experiences, but adults often want to try to make it go away. We say things like, “Don’t be sad,” or immediately try to cheer a child up. But sadness is a normal emotion, and children need to know it’s okay to feel it.

 

I wanted Bella and Bird Explore Sadness to give children permission to be sad, while also showing them some things they can do when sadness shows up. Sometimes that means talking about it, sometimes it means crying, and sometimes it’s simply having someone sitting beside you while you work through what you’re feeling.

 

Q: How did you create your character Molly?

 

A: I wanted Molly to experience something that would feel very real to children and chose being left out by friends because many of us can relate to that experience. When her friends tell her she isn’t good enough to play with them, it hurts, and she starts thinking about what that means while trying to process feelings of sadness.

 

Molly isn’t based on one particular child, instead, she represents what so many children (and adults) experience at some point: wanting to belong and feeling hurt when they don’t.

 

Bella and Bird help her explore not only her sadness, but also the thoughts that come along with it. Eventually, Molly begins to see that one difficult friendship or experience doesn’t define her or her worth as a friend.

 

Q: What do you think Lea Marie Ravotti’s illustrations add to this book?

 

A: From the beginning, I wanted each Bella and Bird book to take place in a different season, and I specifically chose the season of fall for Bella and Bird Explore Sadness. The changing leaves, the colors, and that feeling of transition seemed like the right backdrop for Molly’s story.

 

Lea brought that vision to life beautifully. She captures Molly’s sadness in her expressions and body language, Bella’s gentle presence, and Bird’s personality and humor. There are emotions in the illustrations that don’t need to be explained in words, too. I think children can look at Molly and understand how she’s feeling before she ever says it.

 

Q: What do you hope kids take away from the story?

 

A: More than anything, I hope children understand that it’s okay to be sad. Sadness isn’t something they need to hide or hurry through.

 

I also want them to have a few things they can actually do when they feel sad. Bella and Bird introduce Molly to simple tools such as breathing, drawing what she’s feeling, talking about her thoughts, and looking at a situation in a different way (foggy thinking).

 

And I hope Molly’s experience with her friends reminds children that being left out can really hurt, but it doesn’t determine their worth. Sometimes friendships disappoint us; that’s inevitable. But sometimes we need to look around and realize there may be other people waiting to be friends, too.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Quite a few things! Bella and Bird Explore Happiness is next and will be available in late September 2026, followed by Bella and Bird Explore Fear, which is with Lea (my illustrator) and will go to print in the winter of 2027. That will round out the Bella and Bird the Emotion Explorers series.

 

I’m also working on stories beyond the series. Bird has branched out on his own in a few fantastic books. The first is about worries. It’s a fun, short book that is sure to help children and adults with their worries! And I have several other children’s books in development. I love writing about animals and imagining the world from their point of view.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Bella is my real Gypsy Vanner horse, and Bird was inspired by the barn swallows that make their home in Bella’s barn. That connection to real animals is where Bella and Bird began after Bella and I experienced Hurricane Ian in 2022.

 

Also, I’ve spent more than 20 years in education and am also a licensed clinical mental health counselor, so those two parts of my life naturally find their way into my writing. But I always want my books to be relatable, fun stories first. The emotional tools are woven into what the characters are experiencing rather than being the story itself.

 

In this series, Bella brings gentle guidance, Bird brings humor, and the children bring experiences young readers can recognize in their own lives.

 

At the heart of the series is a simple idea: children don’t need to be taught not to feel anger, sadness, fear, or any other emotion. They need help understanding what they’re feeling and what they can do with it.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Deana Plaskon. This Q&A was conducted in partnership with Deana Plaskon. Big feelings, big prizes! Follow along on this virtual book tour and enter to win one of five signed copies of Bella and Bird Explore Sadness by Deana Plaskon. Feeling extra lucky? One grand prize winner will take home the complete set—signed copies of all three books in the series: Bella and Bird Explore Anger, Bella and Bird Explore Sadness, and Bella and Bird Explore Happiness.