Empowering Young Readers: A Conversation with Literacy Advocate E-Train

Episode Summary:
In this episode of Writers with Wrinkles, Beth and Lisa chat with teenage literacy advocate and podcast host, E-Train, who founded E-Train Talks Inc. to combat "book deserts" and promote literacy among underrepresented communities. E-Train discusses his journey into reading advocacy, the books that inspire young readers, and the importance of diverse representation in middle-grade literature.

Guest Bio:
E-Train is a teenage literacy advocate, reading ambassador, and founder of E-Train Talks Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to promoting literacy and access to books for kids in underprivileged areas. He also hosts the E-Train Talks podcast, where he interviews authors and discusses books, aiming to spread “book joy” and support young readers.

Key Discussion Points:

• Origin Story: E-Train shares how his love of books began with family reading time, virtual library book clubs, and a 4th-grade book review project. This passion grew into a broader mission to bring books to underserved communities.
• Current Projects: E-Train is excited about speaking at the California School Library Association Conference, discussing how books can shape kids’ empathy and character.
• Trends in KidLit: E-Train highlights popular genres among young readers, including fantasy, realistic fiction, and mythology. He notes the importance of relevant themes, like social media's impact on friendships and modern bullying dynamics.
• Challenges in Middle-Grade Reading: The influence of adults in book selections can sometimes miss the mark on what truly resonates with kids. E-Train suggests that children often want more books with themes they can relate to, like friendships, crushes, and complex social interactions.
• Book Discovery: He discusses how kids find books, from school libraries to e-readers, emphasizing that teachers, librarians, and independent bookstores play crucial roles.

Conclusion:
E-Train inspires listeners to value literacy as a tool for social change and empathy building. His advocacy efforts are a call to action for aspiring authors to create books that authentically represent young readers’ lives.

Links Mentioned:

• E-Train Talks Inc.
• California School Library Association Conference
• Bookshop.org for supporting indie bookstores and finding middle-grade books.

Chapters

• 0:00 Teenage Literacy Advocate E-Train Talks
• 7:56 Children's Book Preferences and Discoveries
• 19:51 Kidly Rockstars and Heroes Appreciated

Transcript

Beth McMullen: 0:30

Hi friends, I'm Beth McMullen and I'm Lisa Schmid, and we're the co-hosts of Writers with Wrinkles. This is season three, episode 38. Today we're talking to E-Train, a teenage literacy advocate, podcaster and reading ambassador. He's the founder of E-Train Talks Inc. A non-profit dedicated to ending book deserts and changing the world one story at a time. He advocates for literacy in underrepresented communities, promotes kindness and spreads book joy. So thanks for coming on the show, e-train. We are super excited to have you here today.

ETrain: 1:05

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.

Lisa Schmid: 1:06

I'm really excited. So I met you in person finally a few weeks ago. You and I sat down for a quick little interview and it was such a joy to meet you. I mean, I think everyone already in the kidlit world loves you, but in person it's just, it's nice to really get a one-on-one and get to know more about you, and one of the things I loved hearing so much about was your origin story, like how you got started in this. So can you just talk to us a little bit about how this all began? Absolutely.

ETrain: 1:37

So well. First of all, I wanted to say that I really loved meeting you in person as well, lisa, and it was a real treat. I love your new story, heart and Souls. Everybody who's listening you have to read it. So I'm wearing a Camp Half-Blood shirt right now, so I've got to go into my mythology origin story, all right.

ETrain: 1:55

So I started reading when I was two and a half. My parents had instilled a huge love of reading in me from the day I came home from the hospital and that's no joke. They read so many books to me immediately when I came home and I don't think I've really lived in a world without books. I mean, I know this is an audio, but just sort of picturing in your head. Behind me I have a huge, huge bookshelf full of my favorite stories and a lot of these books have never left me. They've always been by my side, whether it's picture books or middle grade and, from an actual kid lit perspective, how I really began reviewing books, talking to authors.

ETrain: 2:28

It started out during COVID. I took part in virtual library book clubs, which are run by librarians across the country. Took part in virtual library book clubs which are run by librarians across the country. And, first of all, librarians you are amazing, I love you. You are the heroes, unsung heroes, in the book world. And I had these virtual library book clubs.

ETrain: 2:44

I talked with other kids, talked with librarians and I had been writing book reviews about all the books that I've been reading. It was part of a school project that we had taken part in in fourth grade. We had a huge bookworm. Every time you reviewed a book that you read, the bookworm would get a little bit longer depending on how long the book that you read was, and we tried to wrap it around the whole entire classroom. I don't think we succeeded, but it just really inspired me to continue reading, to keep on reading and also talk more about the books that I read.

ETrain: 3:11

And through these library book clubs, the book reviews are actually sent to authors, and the first book that an first book review rather than author, actually saw that I had written was Starfish by Lisa Phipps. Lisa Phipps, if you're watching this or listening, you're amazing. I love your books, I love. And Then Boom, which just came out, and that was the moment that I realized this could really be something special. And now, granted, even at that time, I had no idea what E-Train Talks had become. It started out just a podcast on Spotify, like Writers with Wrinkles is, and it really blossomed into something that I'm really proud of. Now I'm giving books to kids, going out and talking about stories with kids in need, underprivileged communities, and also just online and sharing my love of stories with the kidlit world.

Lisa Schmid: 3:52

So yeah, you know, I just love that story so much. I mean it just really is amazing and how you started, how you, what you've turned it into, because it has really snowballed into something magnificent. Like I just see everything that you do and I'm I was just saying to Beth before we came on the air I'm like so does he find the time, Like he's so much and he's actually going to school and he's doing all this stuff, and I'm just, you know, my hat's off to you because you are doing a fabulous job and you really are making a difference in the world. And so, from all of us in the kid that world, thank you so much.

Beth McMullen: 4:30

What is something new that you are doing in the organization right now, that you're super excited about Any new projects on the horizon or something that you're, like I'm super jazzed about this? Is there anything that you can share with us that's coming down the pipeline?

ETrain: 4:44

Absolutely. And also I wanted to say I currently still don't know how I have time to do all this you were just talking about. How does he do this? I don't know how I do this, but I manage. And we're here today and a project that I'm really excited about.

ETrain: 4:57

I'm going to be speaking at the California School Library Association Conference in San Jose, which is coming up in a couple of months, in January, and I'm going to be talking about my project, but specifically how books really change the world and inspire kids to be better people, because books are windows and mirrors. That's a phrase that I really love sharing, and books just make us better people. They teach empathy, they teach compassion and in a world like we live in today, where the internet can really influence kids' decision making and kids' beliefs, books are really that gateway to become kinder people and more accepting of others, and without stories, I mean, I always like to say readers make leaders, and so I'm hoping that through this conference, I'll be able to go to more schools with more connections with school librarians, who are also, I mean, all librarians in just general. They're all unsung heroes and school librarians. I'm hoping to connect with more schools and so I can give more books to kids who really need them and more inspiration.

Lisa Schmid: 5:56

So where do you see this? Because you're 13 now, right, right, okay. Where do you see this going? Like you, you're already on a huge path. Like, do you have some kind of idea, like where you want this to keep moving to?

ETrain: 6:13

That's a really great question and that's something that I ask myself all the time. And you know, with school currently there isn't a huge homework load at the moment, so that gives me a lot more free time after school. But you know, as I get older, as I traverse into the crazy world that is high school, it's going to be a challenge to keep everything going at the full speed that we're going right now. But I just want to continue this as long as I can. I want to continue bringing joy in whatever aspect I can. Maybe, if I can't review books as often as I previously have, I can maybe utilize some more time to go to schools and actually directly give to kids and I mean in any way possible if I can impact kids and adults' lives and inspire more people to read and inspire people to become kinder people.

ETrain: 6:56

That's really what it's all about and I hope that, as an adult, I don't stop what I'm doing. Future me, if you're watching this, hope that you're still keeping on and keeping just being the kind person that you are at the moment. Hopefully you're still a kind person. I know you are, I know you eat your in and I'm really hoping to just spread more positivity, spread more joy, whether it's through books, whether it's through giving in general, maybe not just related to stories. That's what it's all about, and I'm hoping to continue in the near future and hopefully the far future as well.

Beth McMullen: 7:28

I like that answer. I mean, the world definitely needs more readers, right? Absolutely so we support you. That's amazing. We have a few questions for you that we want to, you know, kind of drill down to the weeds here. Lisa, you want to go?

Lisa Schmid: 7:46

Yes, okay, but first, before we jump in, readers make leaders. I love that, and that's getting posted on Writers with Wrinkles later on today. I love that so much. So there's been this huge kerfuffle about middle grade, and so when Beth and I were talking about it, because we're both middle grade writers Beth's like now in adult fiction, but I'm sure she'll circle back around someday. As I keep saying, make it happen.

Lisa Schmid: 8:13

But we are both middle grade writers and we're seeing a huge shift that you know, people are saying you know kids aren't reading as much. So you know, and not knowing, like, what do kids want? And so when we were having this discussion, I'm like I just happen to know somebody, so we kind of want to pick your brilliant brain to see what's going on out there with kids. Because it's so often it's like adults are making the decision what kids are going to be reading. And even if, once a book's been published, then there's another layer of adults saying, well, do we want kids reading these? You know, are these the books that we're going to choose? And so there's all these layers that all these adults are picking books for kids, but by the time it gets to them, it's like well, wait a minute. Is that even something that kids want to read? I think there should be this whole level where kids are involved in the decision-making process. So, first of all, what are you reading right now? What do you like to?

ETrain: 9:11

read. That's a great question and yeah, I agree with you. Adults are really dictating what kids should read, whether it's parents telling their kids what they can read, and also just the government in a sense. Books are being banned and kids they don't get the chance to see themselves in the books that they read in a lot of states, which is heartbreaking.

ETrain: 9:30

But now shifting to the question of what I'm reading I'm reading a lot. I mean, I always do. But the specific genres that I'm really enjoying, I love realistic fiction. That's always one that really stays in my heart. That's what got me into books. I used to only read nonfiction for a long time, but realistic fiction and fantasy, which is another one of my favorites those really helped me kind of make the change from only nonfiction to fiction. Now I have that happy medium, still love nonfiction, so if you're a nonfiction writer out there, reach out. So other books that I'm reading I love graphic novels. Graphic novels are always a favorite of mine. Just right next to me, I came prepared. I have one of my favorite graphic novels of all time New Kid.

ETrain: 10:13

I had the chance to interview Jerry Craft. He is a legend but yeah, I read pretty much everything. I used to not read many spooky books, but books like Lisa Schmid's right here, like Heart and Souls, and they're books like sort of spooky but not horror. Those are also some books that I'm getting into. I mean, at the time of recording it's almost halloween. One week less than one week until halloween. So what am I supposed to do? Not read spooky books. I have to get myself in the mood. But yeah, I pretty much read anything. If you just put a book out there, I'm gonna dive in, read it in one sitting, hopefully, and I read everything, so you can't really find a genre that I don't enjoy. And if you do, then congratulations, because you stumped even me. So you should be proud of yourself.

Beth McMullen: 10:59

So when you are talking to your peers and your friends and it sounds like you enjoy all the genres and all the stuff which is great, because then you never run out, you never have that panicky moment of oh no, what am I going to read next. When you're talking to your friends and kids in your classes and the reader community, what are they liking? Are they also, like you, totally into everything? Do they prefer, you know, fantasy or are they into graphic novels? What do you feel like is the predominant genre that kids are interested in these days?

ETrain: 11:31

That's a great question and I mean it has to be noted that there are a lot of kids that sadly aren't reading as much and they haven't really found the perfect books that are right for them. But just from a standpoint of what kids are reading at least that I've seen I know there are classics. I mean they might not necessarily be deemed as classics, like Oliver Twist, but I mean I guess contemporary classics twist, but I mean I guess contemporary classics. There's books like percy jackson, camp half-blood represent we have a way. I mean. There's wings of fire. I mean when I go to and visit schools everybody asks me do you read wings of fire? Have you read wings of fire? And I used to always say no because I hadn't, but now I've gotten into it and I see what the appeal is. And also harry potter I mean I want to share like a really cool story. I went to elementary school a couple weeks ago and they had a harry potter like. They had two dueling book clubs, one that was all about harry potter, the other one that was percy jackson, and they had like competitions. It was so much fun, so cool to learn about and I mean it's really cool to see this next generation of readers being lifted up and checking out these new classics. And also Keeper of the Lost Cities it's another favorite of kids.

ETrain: 12:35

Chris Colfer he wrote Land of Stories. I'm always asked about that. Also sort of Sacramento native, lisa McMahon you know her, you love her. Her Forgotten Five, her Unwanted series those are both favorites of kids Also. I mean, I have a lot of books that I could share, but I can sort of wrap it up. When I go to second and third grade classrooms I always see my Weird School Books by Dan Gutman, and Dan Gutman is one of the nicest people I've ever met, so check out his books. I love Dan Gutman. And also finally, last but not least, we have Spy School by Stuart Gibbs. All the books they're kids' favorites.

Beth McMullen: 13:14

Well, folks, excuse the interruption, but in a plot twist none of us saw coming, my internet decided to make a dramatic exit right in the middle of our interview. So while I was off battling the Wi-Fi dragons, Lisa was left to heroically finish the episode solo. I think she nailed it. Now back to the second half of our conversation with E-Train.

Lisa Schmid: 13:33

For our listeners at home. We just had. This is the real world of podcasting. We just lost Beth McMullen. She's in the woods someplace in Connecticut, I think, right now. So it is now, and I just told E-Train it's just you and me, kid, we're doing this.

ETrain: 13:52

She did not die, sure, her internet died.

Lisa Schmid: 13:55

She did not die. Sure, her internet died. Where do?

ETrain: 14:12

you think kids are discovering new books? Is it at the library? Because I know it's not on. You know, I don't think kids are going on Goodreads or Amazon or I mean it's a really big mixed bag, and I think that kids are finding books in all sorts of places, which is really exciting. Like you said, kids are not finding books on Goodreads.

ETrain: 14:26

Most likely, I mean there could be some cool kids out there who are doing that and maybe some of you might be inspired to do this after this interview, but for the majority, I feel like a lot of teachers give great recommendations. Teachers have a really great sense of seeing what their students enjoy, reading, what their students really like, and I mean they have a lot of books in their back pocket that they can turn to to give to their kids, which I really love and also school librarians and librarians. They have massive catalogs and even if they don't have the books in their specific library, they really give great directions as to where you can find the story. You can maybe go to your own public library, maybe you can scour around the school library and might find it here as well. So the library, of course, great place, public libraries and I think Amazon is. It's interesting. I mean, that's sort of like the A, where we don't talk about Amazon, because independent bookstores are great places that kids should be going to as well. Hopefully more parents will be advocating for kids to go to independent bookstores. But Amazon I think that Amazon is interesting. I think that they do have good. If you like this book, then you might like this book, and plus plus it can be a little bit more convenient for people, which I totally understand.

ETrain: 15:39

So I think Amazon is a place where kids can find books, but that's more from a parent's direction. It's more of a parent's ideal way of finding books rather than what kids typically do. So kids find stories all over the place and it's just really exciting All the ways that you can see where kids are checking out new books, checking out new ways to dive into stories. Also, ebooks and Kindles those are great ways that kids can enjoy reading on the go, whether they're at home or they can be in an airplane reading. And I know books can be physical. Books can be very heavy on an airplane and you know you got to stay under that 50 pound limit for your kid. So eBooks can also be great. I'm personally not the biggest e-reader, but I know there are a lot of kids who are and that's great. It's great that people are finding new ways to read.

Lisa Schmid: 16:23

So you think kids are, generally their resource is school libraries and libraries. Amazon's a bad word, but at the same time you have like access. There's also bookshoporg, because and I I love indie bookstores and I love Barnes and Noble but they're also very limited in their space. They can only carry so many middle grade books and I always think you know there's all these middle grade books that are so wonderful that aren't, you know, a bestseller, so they don't make it into that, into that bookstore. So hopefully kids are finding a way to really explore other options and for listeners out there, bookshoporg is a great place for you to go and look for more books. The other thing what do you think is there anything like that? You feel like kids are drawn to, that, they want more of that's kind of missing out there, because, again, adults are making the decision and when you're talking to kids, are they like oh my God, do you know a book series that's more like this book series? You know what I mean.

ETrain: 17:34

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean and I'm sort of being the voice for the kids here. I think that kids they really want to see more specific genres, that I feel like kids are really drawn to Fantasy. That's a really big one in this day and age. I think kids love fantasy. They love the idea of escaping into a new world. I personally love that as well. I think mythology with the success of the Percy Jackson stories, they're always going to be in my heart. I love them. I think kids are looking for more mythology, which I hope to see more of, and my personal experience, I'm looking for more. I guess a lot of middle schoolers kind of go like ew. But you know, crushes, those are real, they're very real things, middle schoolers. It's not weird, it's a not okay, anyway.

ETrain: 18:23

But I think that there needs to be more accurate representation of those because, I mean, sometimes parents might be like, oh, just a little crush, that's no big deal, but to kids it is a big deal. It's literally our social aspects of school and life. They're like huge. Sometimes people care more about clothes than homework.

ETrain: 18:39

I mean, nobody really enjoys homework but you know, I think that more accurate representation when it comes to crushes and those sort of aspects also, friendships and bullies because bullying can be really complicated nowadays. It's not just in person somebody saying, oh, you're bad at basketball or something. They can go online. They can be anonymous. Sometimes you might not even know who is bullying you and that means you can't really report them. You can't really do anything about it.

ETrain: 19:09

So the complexities of bullying and the complexities of friendship, with social media being really prevalent in our lives, they really need to be talked more about in middle grade, in my opinion. I think that kids will definitely agree with that. More accurate representation and relevant themes and topics portrayed in books that's what kids are looking for. So, authors out there, if you're an aspiring author or one who's currently writing books that are being sold already, maybe try that, Because I think that you'll get a lot of kids who are like how, how, how do they read my mind? And I think that's going to be something great that kids are going to love.

Lisa Schmid: 19:41

Oh, my God, that is the perfect answer and that is exactly why we had you on the podcast. Thank you so much, thank you so? Much for all your time today. You are a kid, that rock star.

ETrain: 19:52

Thank you, and I'm really excited to be in the presence of kidly Rockstars and Kidly Heroes, like both of you, and I'm sorry that internet was a really big problem. So I mean, if, beth, if you're watching this in the future or listening to this in the future. Thank you so much for being a great host. Of course, lisa, thank you so much for having me, and I'm really grateful.

Lisa Schmid: 20:10

Thank you so much, and, listeners, we encourage you to check out the details about E-Transmission and we will put the link in our podcast notes and the blog at writerswithwrinklesnet. And Beth and I are back on November 25th where we are talking to Creative Media Agency literary agent Vicki Weber, and we're excited about the conversation. So please join us for that if you can, and then, until then, happy reading, writing and listening.