High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Wildwood: The Wildwood Chronicles, Book 1 is a 2011 children`s fantasy novel by The Decemberists` singer-songwriter Colin Meloy, illustrated by his wife Carson Ellis. The 541 page novel, inspired by classic fantasy novels and folk tales, is the story of two seventh-graders who are drawn into a hidden, magical forest, while trying to rescue a baby kidnapped by crows. They get caught up in an epic struggle, and learn of their connection to a magical parallel world while confronting adult authorities who are often cowardly or dishonest. The natural beauty and local color of Portland, Oregon figure prominently in the book.