Stephen Colbert Got Kids to React to Bob Woodward’s New Book About Trump

In the wake of anonymous op-eds, a contentious Supreme Court nominee confirmation hearing, and rumored resistance fighters inside the White House, people may be seeking answers to how we got to the current level of political upheaval. According to Stephen Colbert, if you’re looking for answers, as Reading Rainbow taught a generation, “Take a look, it’s in a book.”

While LeVar Burton’s beloved kids program, Reading Rainbow, ended its run in 2006, it was resurrected for a brief moment on Wednesday night’s episode of The Late Show. Colbert stepped in for Burton and kids to share their favorite parts of Bob Woodward’s new book Fear, which paints an unsettling portrait of the Commander in Chief.

The book selection resonated with the children with one young reader noting how it was like “watching the republic crumble before our eyes” and another was thrilled by the bit about an alleged desire to assassinate Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

Of course, Trump has denied that the book is real and the child readers just might agree. One young girl explained that Fear is about “an ogre made of cheese” who “runs the country without knowing anything about how to do it.”

However when she notes that the book is “scary and funny and sad all at the same time,” it seems clear that her reading comprehension is well above grade level.