Bruce Springsteen writes children's book titled 'Outlaw Pete'

The Boss is joining the ranks of rock superstars who have written children’s books. Simon & Schuster announced Thursday that Bruce Springsteen has co-written a picture book that will hit stores in November.

The book, titled Outlaw Pete, is based on the mammoth 8-minute track that opens his 2009 album, Working on a Dream. It was also inspired by the 1950 Simon & Schuster book Brave Cowboy Bill, which his mother used to read to him.

Outlaw Pete is essentially the story of a man trying to outlive and outrun his sins,” Springsteen said of the book in a statement.

The book was written with cartoonist Frank Caruso, who created the illustrations to match Springsteen’s lyrics. It was his idea to bring the song to life in picture book form.

“When Bruce wrote ‘Outlaw Pete’ he didn’t just write a great song, he created a great character,” Caruso explained. “The first time I heard the song this book played out in my head. Like Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Dorothy Gale and for me, even Popeye, Outlaw Pete cuts deep into the folklore of our country and weaves its way into the fabric of great American literary characters.”

Of course, Springsteen isn’t the first rock ‘n’ roll icon to enter the children’s book world. Back in March, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards wrote Gus & Me: The Story of my Granddad and My First Guitar with his daughter. That book will be coming out next month. Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” also became a picture book with illustrations from Paul Rogers.

Outlaw Pete is available for pre-order already and will be out on Nov. 4. Here’s Springsteen performing the song in 2009:

image courtesy of INFphoto.com

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