It's no joke. Stephen Colbert is officially publishing a children's book. "I Am A Pole (and So Can You!)" is slated to hit store shelves and the Web on May 8.

 

Colbert pitched the idea of a kid's book about a flag pole during part-two of a two-part interview last month with Maurice Sendak, legendary author of "Where the Wild Things Are." The interview was a huge hit and Colbert's fans pressed for an actual book.

In the interview, Colbert even got Sendak to endorse the project in the announcement. Sendak offered two blurbs: "It's terribly ordinary," and “The sad thing is I like it.”

 

Here's the interview and a sneak peek at the book. I do hope if this actually goes to print, that they lose the stripper stanza. Other than that, it looks as good as anything else out there these days. Let me know what you think: