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.

Transcript

Teenage Literacy Advocate E-Train Talks

Beth McMullen 0:00

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 0:34

Absolutely . Thank you so much for having me .

Lisa Schmid 0:36

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 1:07

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 1:24

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 1:57

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 2:14

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 2:40

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 3:22

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 3:59

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 4:14

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 4:27

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 5:25

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 5:43

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 6:26

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 6:58

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 7:16

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 .

Children's Book Preferences and Discoveries

Lisa Schmid 7:26

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 7:43

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 8:41

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 9:00

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 9:43

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 10:28

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 11:01

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 12:05

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 12:43

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 13:02

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 13:22

She did not die , sure , her internet died .

Lisa Schmid 13:24

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

ETrain 13:42

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 13:55

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 15:08

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 15:52

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 17:03

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 17:53

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 18:09

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 18:38

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 19:11

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 .

Kidly Rockstars and Heroes Appreciated

ETrain 19:21

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 19:40

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 .