Decemberists Frontman Putting Out Children's Book

Decemberists singer/guitarist Colin Meloy and his wife, artist Carson Ellis, are set to release a children's book called The Unfortunate Demise Of Whitley Rackham.

Its not known when the Stumptown Printers title will be available in stores, but on Thursday (Oct. 29) Ellis wrote on her blog that the book will be out soon, since "it's [sic] completion seems to be on the horizon."

Paste magazine reported Meloy and Ellis were working on a children's book in 2006. It's not known if it's the same one, but then the magazine wrote that the book was about a "talking cat... in turn-of-the-century Butte, Mont." That book also apparently involved "a bunch of dead Turks."

This isn't the first time Meloy and Ellis have collaborated on artistic material. Ellis has done the artwork for every Decemberists album, Meloy's solo albums and has designed some of The Decemberists' merchandise and some backdrops for their shows.

The Decemberists have these dates scheduled in support of this year's The Hazards Of Love:

Nov. 18 London, England @ The Forum
Nov. 19 London, England @ The Coronet
Nov. 21 The Hague, Netherlands @ Crossing Border Festival
Jan. 15 Auckland, New Zealand @ MT Smart Stadium (Big Day Out Festival)
Jan. 17 Gold Coast, Australia @ Gold Coast Parklands (Big Day Out Festival)
Jan. 18-19 Sydney, Australia @ Metro Theatre
Jan. 22-23 Sydney, Australia @ Sydney Showground (Big Day Out Festival)
Jan. 24-25 Melbourne, Australia @ Billboard
Jan. 26 Melbourne, Australia @ Melbourne Flemington Racecourse (Big Day Out Festival)
Jan. 29 Adelaide, Australia @ Adelaide Showground (Big Day Out Festival)
Jan. 31 Perth, Australia @ Perth Claremont Showground (Big Day Out Festival)