--- title: Stephen Colbert Has Kids React to the Bob Woodward Book description: “Take a look, it’s in a book. A Reading Rainbow.” canonical: https://time.com/5387324/colbert-kids-woodward-fear/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-09-06T14:45:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:54:41.038Z og:title: Colbert Had Kids React to Bob Woodward's Book About Trump og:description: “Watching the republic crumble before our eyes” og:url: https://time.com/5387324/colbert-kids-woodward-fear/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3426aa3ec9e2e658/6989399686f68edd1f6ea185/kidsreadfeartrump.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1525 og:image:height: 858 og:image:alt: KidsReadFearTrump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Colbert Had Kids React to Bob Woodward's Book About Trump twitter:description: “Watching the republic crumble before our eyes” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3426aa3ec9e2e658/6989399686f68edd1f6ea185/kidsreadfeartrump.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Stephen Colbert Got Kids to React to Bob Woodward's New Book About Trump > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ccdebb66-8d8d-45fb-b2ce-af7f97ef1149&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Sep 6, 2018 2:45 PM UTC  by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Sep 6, 2018 2:45 PM UTC In the wake of [anonymous op-eds](http://time.com/5388118/trump-new-york-times-reveal-anonymous-op-ed-writer/), a contentious Supreme Court nominee [confirmation hearing](http://time.com/5387712/brett-kavanaugh-hearing-day-two/), and [rumored resistance](http://time.com/5388483/mike-pence-denies-writing-anonymous-op-ed/) 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](http://time.com/5386667/donald-trump-bob-woodward-book-mueller/) 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. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5387324/colbert-kids-woodward-fear/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5387324/colbert-kids-woodward-fear/"},"headline":"Stephen Colbert Got Kids to React to Bob Woodward's New Book About Trump","datePublished":"2018-09-06T14:45:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:54:41.038Z","description":"“Take a look, it’s in a book. 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