I finished a book! Where's my personal pan pizza?

Katelyn and Roxy are certified bookworms — and that particular inclination goes back a long ways. In this episode, the two hosts talk about the books that shaped them as children. How reading turned into a lifelong love affair. And why reading is more than a hobby; it's a powerful worldview-shaping exercise. You are what you read, after all.

Voracious reader Danté Stewart explains how reading widely — and far outside his own perspective and experience — has shaped him as a writer and human. He also drops a list of book recommendations worthy of several shelves in your bookcase.

Plus, the hosts head out into the field to interview two childhood learning experts (Karen & Sharon!).

GUESTS:

• Danté Stewart is the author of the new book "Shoutin' in the Fire: An American Epistle," a book exploring Black joy in an anti-Black world. He is a speaker and a writer whose work in the areas of race, religion and politics has been featured in Religion News Service, CNN, The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Sojourners and The Witness.
• E. Karen Beaty is a retired children's librarian and early childhood education director. (She is also Katelyn's mom.)
• Sharon Stone is a pre-K and kindergarten teacher with more than 50 years' experience. (And she's Roxy's mom.)