Deana Plaskon

I’m an author and expert in human behavior and emotional intelligence, with a passion for helping children — and the adults who love them — notice, explore, and grow their emotional intelligence through stories.

I hold a PhD specializing in human behavior, am a licensed clinical mental health counselor, and an educator whose work focuses on helping children (and adults) understand and better manage their emotions.

To bridge the gap between discovering and learning, I created the children’s book series Bella and Bird the Emotion Explorers. The series was inspired by real-life events, my real horse, Bella, and her wise-cracking barnyard friend, Bird (he’s real too). Bella and Bird's friendship became the foundation for stories that help children explore emotions in relatable and meaningful ways (sprinkled with Bird's witty humor, too, of coarse!).

By combining professional expertise in emotional intelligence with engaging storytelling, the Bella and Bird books introduce readers to emotional intelligence while giving parents, teachers, and therapists practical ways to notice and talk with children about feelings. The books also provide life-long skills that children can carry with them.

The first book in the series, Bella and Bird Explore Anger, invites children to become “emotion explorers,” discovering that emotions can feel big but, with the right tools, can also be understood and better managed.

The second book, Bella and Bird Explore Sadness, invites children and adults to learn how to tend to sadness and offers practical tools to better manage this heavy emotion.

The third book, Bella and Bird Explore Happiness is coming in the Fall of 2026. And the fourth book in the series, Bella and Bird Explore Fear is expected in early 2027.

Inspired by real-life events, the Bella and Bird series was created to teach life-long skills through fun, relatable storytelling that naturally sparks curiosity and shared learning.

Through my work, I show how storytelling can turn everyday moments into opportunities for learning and discovery; for kids, parents, educators, and therapists alike.