In this special bonus episode of Life in Jest, Selene welcomes JoEllen McCarthy, literacy expert, speaker, and author of Layers of Learning. Together they explore how picture books inspire inquiry, build empathy, and connect content with compassion—helping students make sense of an increasingly abstract world.

JoEllen shares practical ways to use mentor texts and author’s notes as springboards for curiosity and conversation, and she and Selene discuss how reading becomes truly transformative when it connects the head and the heart.

Whether you’re an educator, librarian, parent, or Philomath, this episode will remind you that picture books aren’t just for kids—they’re blueprints for lifelong learning and meaningful human connection.

💬 Episode Highlights

• ✨ How picture books spark inquiry and ignite meaningful classroom conversations
• 📚 The art of making content connections across ELA, social studies, and history
• 🧠 Strategies for using mentor texts to link academic and emotional learning
• 💖 Why inclusive, empathy-driven stories are vital in today’s classrooms
• 🗣️ The hidden value of author’s notes—those “secret windows” into a writer’s process
• 🔍 How teachers can collaborate across subjects to create richer, unified learning experiences
• 🏫 Practical ways to extend reading beyond the curriculum and inspire lifelong curiosity
• 💡 How to encourage students to research, question, and build understanding like historians
• 💬 Why inquiry-based learning helps students care more deeply about what they learn
• 🖋️ The importance of revision, reflection, and perseverance—for writers and learners
• 💫 How stories build empathy, courage, and connection in a fragmented world

🧠 Why It Matters

In a time when technology can isolate and overwhelm, picture books reconnect us to curiosity, care, and content.

Through the lens of literacy, Selene and JoEllen invite listeners to rediscover how stories shape empathy and inquiry—how reading can truly make us more human.

We live in an increasingly abstract, disconnected world — but stories still have the power to bring us together.

📚 About the Guest

JoEllen McCarthy is a nationally recognized literacy consultant, speaker, and book ambassador who helps educators curate mentor texts that inspire both critical thinking and compassion.

She is the author of Layers of Learning: Using Read-Alouds to Connect Literacy and Caring Conversations and co-author of Seasons of Literacy, a monthly guide that nurtures reading and writing through social-emotional connection.

Visit https://www.joellenmccarthy.com/.

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