JoEllen McCarthy

JoEllen McCarthy is a literacy consultant and author who champions the power of read-alouds to connect reading, writing, and social-emotional learning in classrooms. She is the author of Layers of Learning: Using Read-Alouds to Connect Literacy and Caring Conversations, which introduces the Heartprint Framework and offers more than 200 picture-book suggestions, read-aloud–based connections, and instructional strategies for nurturing readers and writers while building caring classroom communities.

In addition to Layers of Learning, McCarthy has written Seasons of Literacy: A Monthly Guide to Growing Lifelong Readers and Writers, an educator-focused guide that provides author-curated read-alouds and suggestions tied to monthly themes to support yearlong literacy planning. Across her work, she focuses on using picture books and interactive read-alouds to layer academic instruction with life lessons, foster inclusive conversations, and help students grow as independent readers, writers, and thinkers.