Books & more from Literacyheart

Books that make the research teachable.

Teacher-facing books that turn the science of reading into something you can actually teach — clear, honest, and built for the classroom.

A smiling teacher with her arms crossed.
Building Better Mental Models: 8 Conditions of Comprehension
The pocket-sized book tucked in a shirt pocket, showing how small it is The pocket-sized book tucked into a crossbody bag

In a Few Words · No. 1

Building Better Mental Models

8 Conditions of Comprehension

Every sentence a reader meets changes the picture in their mind. This book names the eight conditions that let that picture grow strong, and the role each one plays in comprehension. It’s small and short on purpose, sized to read in one sitting and slip in your pocket.

The book & the app

The enCOURAGEments

Meditations for Teaching and Living Across the Year

Ninety encouragements live in the book — part poem, part blessing, part quiet companion — grouped by the six seasons of a teacher’s year. The app adds two more seasons and carries that same voice into every morning, a fresh one waiting on your phone.

Preorder the book → Get notified when the app goes live →
Mock cover Seeds of enCOURAGEments book cover
The Encouragements app, showing today's encouragement.

Books

The Shifting the Balance series

The books behind the practice, from the shifts that started it all to what is coming next.

Shifting the Balance Towards Comprehension book cover Mock cover
Coming Summer 2027 · Stenhouse

Shifting the Balance Towards Comprehension

6 Ways to Bring the Science of Understanding Into the Structured Literacy Classroom

Jan Miller Burkins & Katie Egan Cunningham

Our next book explores the research and practices behind mental modeling. It unpacks the misunderstandings that keep comprehension on the back burner, and offers the high-leverage routines Shifting the Balance readers look for.

Get updates →
Shifting the Balance, Grades K-2 book cover
In print

Shifting the Balance, K–2

6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom

Jan Burkins & Kari Yates

The book that started the series. Six clear shifts help K–2 teachers move balanced-literacy habits toward the science of reading, without throwing out everything that already works.

Order from Stenhouse →
Shifting the Balance, Grades 3-5 book cover
In print

Shifting the Balance, 3–5

6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Upper Elementary Classroom

Jan Burkins & Kari Yates

The same six shifts carried into the upper-elementary classroom, where fluency, vocabulary, and knowledge start to carry more of the comprehension load.

Order from Stenhouse →

For information on bulk orders in the United States, reach out to Kristyl at connect@literacyheart.com.