Bella & Bird Explore Sadness -- Picture Book Review & Giveaway

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Deanna Plaskon to bring you this post.

Little kids and really of us have BIG feelings sometimes. Little kids do not always know how to deal with them. Bella and Bird return in a new book focusing on sadness this time! The book is Bella and Bird Explore Sadness by Deanna Plaskon, PhD, LMHC and illustrated by Lea Marie Ravotti. There is a giveaway for the series after my review.

About the Book:

Bella and Bird Explore Sadness written by Deana Plaskon and illustrated by Lea Marie Rivotti

Publisher: Bella and Bird Books (2026) | ISBN: 979-8987268452 | Ages: Ages 5–10 | 32 pages | Series: Bella and Bird — Emotion Explorers

Publisher's Summary: Molly cried. She really cried. When Molly comes into the pasture, gloomy and sad, Bella, the wise horse, and Bird, the wisecracking barn swallow, step in to help. Together, the friends set out to explore why Molly is sad and offer valuable lessons and better ways to cope. By the time Molly leaves the pasture, she's gained new insights, is in better control of her feelings, and has tools to take along with her.

Bella and Bird Explore Sadness provides a foundation for readers to explore, understand, and effectively manage sadness, and serves as an invaluable tool for starting honest conversations about big emotions.

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Deana Plaskon is an award-winning children's author, educator, and licensed mental health professional. Bella isn't just a storybook character — she's Deana's real-life Gypsy Vanner horse, and Bird is inspired by the barn swallows that gather Bella's mane to build their nests.

After Hurricane Ian, Deana saw how deeply children were affected by fear, sadness, uncertainty, and change — an experience that inspired the Bella and Bird Emotion Explorers series, blending engaging stories with practical emotional intelligence tools.

Website: bellabirdbooks.com

Connect: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

From Me:

In this book Molly is crying. Bella comes over to see what is wrong. Bird also joins them. Molly is really sad and Bella and Bird let her cry. They even tell her sometimes it is good to cry it out. Then after she stops crying, they talk about why she is sad. She was feeling left out when her friends were playing a game and said some things about how she doesn't play well enough to join them. She is still upset so bird suggests a breathing activity and Bella and Bird talk Molly through her emotions and help her try to focus on some positive things and other friends. 

I love how this book not only talks about the emotion but gives techniques for dealing with it. I also love how Bella and Bird give Molly advice on the friends who were not nice. They recognize that she was not treated kindly. They talk about how sometimes friends can treat each other meanly, but if it is happening all the time then maybe that person isn't the right friend for her. When she complains of having no friends, they focus her on other friends. They have her name friends she enjoys spending time with, and the first one is Hazel!! You know I love that the first real friend is named Hazel!! Too bad my Hazel is too old for this book. The suggestions are great and helpful. They will work in different situations and also gets the reader thinking about what kind behavior is and what it means to be a good friend. These are discussions that can be had with kids during a story time. It is the perfect book for helping kids deal with the BIG emotion sadness can be but also to talk about helping others when they are sad and how to be a good friend and how to tell when others are being a good friend to them. 

With the other books in this series, kids will be ready for many BIG feelings. As I was thinking of the books we have shared from this series, I was thinking there should be one about happiness and look there is!! It is not just "bad" feelings. I hope you will check out this book and the entire series! They are perfect for home libraries to talk about feelings, classrooms, and psychologists' offices!

Giveaway: 

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. Good luck!! Giveaway ends at 11:30 PM MT on September 24, 2026.