Yvette Manns: An Author's Journey

Episode Summary: In this episode, I'm joined by the incredible Yvette Manns — educator, certified dyslexia practitioner, and the creative mind behind the Phonics Readalouds series. If you've ever wished your phonics lessons could be more engaging and aligned with the science of reading, you're in for a treat. Yvette shares how her teaching experiences and structured literacy background led her to write decodable-aligned readalouds that bring tricky phonics concepts to life — from Bossy R pirates to silent letter ghosts. We talk about the power of story to make phonics memorable, how to keep instruction joyful and research-aligned, and why engagement is never fluff. You'll also hear about what's next for her growing literacy universe, including upcoming books, hardcover releases, digital resources, and exciting national (and international!) teacher events. In This Episode, We Cover: Why Yvette started writing phonics readalouds — and how they support decoding and language comprehension The inspiration behind student favorites like The Not-So-Lazy Schwa and The Very Talented Silent E How to use phonics readalouds meaningfully in your instruction Advice for making phonics fun without sacrificing instructional integrity How multimodal routines and strong classroom systems create space for joyful learning What's coming next: new books, teacher trainings, and her vision for growing the Phonics Readaloud universe Resources & Links Mentioned: 🌐 Phonics Readalouds Website — Get Yvette's free ebooks when new books launch (available for 48 hours only!) 📚 Yvette's Author Website — Explore all of her titles, including non-phonics books 📧 Contact: [email protected] 📸 Instagram: @phonicsreadalouds | @thelitteacher 🛍️ Books available on Amazon (hardcover editions coming soon!) Upcoming Events with Yvette: Presenting at The Reading League in Chicago this fall International speaking engagements this summer The Elevate Your Classroom Conference – happening in Nashville, St. Paul, and Austin Partnering with early learning centers in Georgia for community-based literacy support Want More Like This? Subscribe to the Literacy Unlocked podcast and leave a review to help other educators find us. And don't forget to grab your freebie and join our newsletter for practical tips, resources, and conversations that connect research to real classrooms.