Stephen Colbert, I AM A POLE (AND SO CAN YOU!)

The TV show The Colbert Report began as a fake promo on The Daily Show, so I suppose it makes sense that when Stephen Colbert pitched the fake book I Am a Pole (and So Can You!) during an interview with Maurice Sendak, it would wind up being an actual book. Fortunately, much like The Colbert Report, I Am a Pole (and So Can You!) is a lot of tongue-in-cheek fun.

Designed as a children's book, I Am a Pole (and So Can You!) focuses on, well, a pole. This hero is out to find his purpose in life: "So I've spent a lot of time, In pursuit of one clear goal: Finding out where I fit in. What is my true pole role?" The pole bounces from job to job, often with disastrous results (and always in rhyme). There are also the wished roles: "I wished I was the North Pole, And marked the home of Santa... Or even just a Gallup poll, calling voters in Atlanta."

While I Am a Pole (and So Can You!) may not exactly be a children's book (have fun explaining to kids what a stripper is, parents!), it captures a lot of the shameless self-aware promotion of The Colbert Report, from pitching other (fake) pole books and movie rights to Colbert's appearance. There's also a good innocent sense of humor throughout the pole's journey, and the art by Paul Hildebrand complements the children's-book feel quite nicely. I Am a Pole (and So Can You!) is a nice, amusing, simple little book that's most definitely inspired by The Colbert Report.

Overall grade: B

Reviewed by James Lynch