Stephen Colbert to Publish Kids Book 'I Am a Pole (And So Can You!)' in May (Video)

Stephen Colbert has made good on his promise to famed children's author Maurice Sendak that he to would "cash in" on the wave of children's books by celebrity authors. Grand Central Books announced today that it would publish Colbert's I Am a Pole (And So Can You!) on May 8.

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Colbert pitched the idea of a book about a flagpole's search for its identity during a two-part interview in late January with Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are. The interview became a viral sensation, and Colbert's fans pushed for an actual book.

Colbert even got Sendak to endorse the project in the announcement. The book is "terribly ordinary," Sendak says, but “the sad thing is I like it.”

Colbert adds, "I hope the minutes you and your loved ones spend reading it are as fulfilling as the minutes I spent writing it.”

Grand Central published Colbert's best-seller I Am America (And So Can You!) in 2007, and it will publish his next book, America Again: Re-Becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t, in October.

Dan Strone of Trident Media Group and James Dixon of Dixon Talent negotiated the book deal on Colbert's behalf.

See Colbert pitch I Am a Pole to Sendak below: