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When I received a copy of the children\u2019s book, Mixed Feelings<\/a>,\u00a0by New Yorker<\/em> cartoonist Liana Finck<\/a>, I couldn\u2019t wait to dig in. It opens with the question \u201cHow do I feel?\u201d and then depicts emotions that can be hard for kids to name, like the specific boredom that arises when \u201cthere are so many things to do, but none of them is what I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n When we read the book together, my six-year-old asked, \u201cWhy does the kid shout NOT TIRED! but then falls right to sleep?!\u201d To which, I replied, with only a bit of side-eye, \u201cHmm. Why do you<\/em> think?\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019m excited to share a few pages from the book, plus a Q&A with Liana\u2026<\/p>\n *****<\/strong><\/p>\n Kaitlyn: How did you choose the title, Mixed Feelings? <\/strong> Are any other characters based on your childhood?<\/strong> I read that you identify as neurodivergent. How has that shaped your relationship to your feelings?<\/strong> What\u2019s something you want kids to take from the book?<\/strong> Me, too! As a parent, I also felt seen in the book\u2019s portrayals of caregiving.<\/strong> Do you enjoy doing book events for kids?<\/strong> Your parenting comics<\/a> are popular on Instagram. Is there a reader favorite?<\/strong> What are a few of your<\/em> favorite children\u2019s books?<\/strong> Huge congratulations, Liana<\/a>, on your beautiful book<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n P.S. Hot dads in children\u2019s books<\/a>, and chic moms in children\u2019s books<\/a>.<\/p>\n (Photo of Liana Finck by Annette Hornischer.)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cupofjo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/How-do-I-feel-Liana-Finck-Mixed-Feelings-e1737059090322.png\")
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Liana: I remember having really strong feelings as a kid and not even fathoming that there could be a way to describe them. Many were actually mixtures of feelings, like shyness, plus confusion about feeling shy. Some of the feelings in the book were inspired by my three-year-old, but anything about shyness was inspired by my own childhood. <\/p>\n
The kid who pretends to be a horse. I got expelled from nursery school for pretending to be a dog \u2014\u00a0and I was a very nice dog, not rowdy or barking or biting or anything! But the teachers did not like it. What was so mortifying, at the time, is that I couldn\u2019t explain why I did what I did. Looking back, I\u2019m sure that it came from being shy and trying to connect with the other kids in this funny way.<\/p>\n
Yes, I have very strong senses and am often overwhelmed by noises, and that can make me act weird. With neurodivergence, there are years where it becomes the biggest thing for me. It\u2019s like I have this drawer \u2014 it\u2019s always there, but sometimes I\u2019ll take a year to just examine everything in it. I\u2019m just coming out of one of those years.<\/p>\n
I hope kids learn not to judge their feelings by people\u2019s reactions to them. Kids can feel so much shame, especially when other people don\u2019t understand them. I know I did, and I think my son does, too. I wish I\u2019d learned sooner how to honor my feelings. <\/p>\n
There\u2019s a page where a little girl is pointing out a bird but can\u2019t get her mom\u2019s attention. I hope adult readers see that the mom is also taking care of an infant and a dog, and it\u2019s raining, and she\u2019s gotten everyone into their rain gear and out the door. She looks like she\u2019s barely holding it together. I\u2019ve been that little girl, and I\u2019ve been that mom.<\/p>\n
Yes, I love to ask kids questions \u2014\u00a0it\u2019s so much fun to hear what they have to say. Kids are so much more different from each other than adults are from each other. Plus, there\u2019s always one kid who is a talker and another who\u2019s shy but really wants to say something.<\/p>\n
My New Yorker<\/em>-style cartoons take the form of a one-two punch, like a stand-up joke, but my Instagram cartoons are just a single punch. People liked the one with a mother and baby both thinking the same thought bubble, which says, \u2018Mine<\/a>.\u2019 They belong to each other.<\/p>\n
I grew up reading Tell Me a Mitzi<\/a>. Plus, Arnold Lobel\u2019s Mr. Owl at Home<\/a>, which is just as wonderful but not as well known as the Frog and Toad series, and George and Martha<\/a>, because their friendship is so warm and comfortable.<\/p>\n