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Book Event: The Forest Year by Ethan Tapper

Book Event: The Forest Year by Ethan Tapper

by | Sep 18, 2026

In partnership with our friends at Charter Books, join us for an event with author Ethan Tapper. Tapper will discuss his new book, The Forest Year, a meditative and lyrical ode to the land, weaving complex scientific and ecological concepts with beautiful narrative prose, making nuanced ideas easy to understand and deeply resonant. Both place-based and practice-driven, Tapper writes not as an armchair philosopher or an academic, but as a working forester and ecologist stewarding real forests in real time, blending emotional insight with ecological rigor.

Doors open at 5:00 PM to view the museum and the talk begins at 5:30 PM.

$15 general admission; FREE for Newport County Residents.

Tickets available here

About The Forest Year:

A forest almanac for our time, rooted in a full year observing a rural woodland and its birds.
Tapper’s groundbreaking first book How to Love a Forest offered a pragmatic and hopeful vision for our relationship with forests and other ecosystems. His new book, The Forest Year, lives inside the practice of staying, caretaking, and paying attention. Following the author’s forest through a year of life, the book explores flowers, birds, forest ecology, biodiversity, while also reflecting on stewardship, community, and what it means to be rooted in place.
A moving account of what it means to persist in the face of change and to love a place through work, compromise, sacrifice, and humility, this book will inspire readers to think deeply about where they live and who they are.

About the author:
Ethan Tapper is a forester, ecologist, digital storyteller, and the bestselling author of How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World. For more than a decade, Ethan has been recognized as a thought-leader in the world of ecosystem stewardship, winning numerous regional and national awards for his work. More recently, he has been recognized as a writer – since its publication in 2024, How to Love a Forest has been named the winner of the 2025 New England Book Award for nonfiction, and received international acclaim. Ethan’s message of relationship, responsibility and hope reaches millions of people each year through his writing, social media channels with hundreds of thousands of followers, and the hundreds of walks, talks and keynotes that he delivers across North America each year. Ethan works, writes, hunts, birds and runs a small consulting forestry business from his home at Bear Island – his 175-acre working forest, homestead, orchard and sugarbush in Vermont – and plays in his punk band, The Bubs.

About our partner, Charter Books:
Founded in 2020, Charter Books is a Newport-based business whose mission is to cultivate community and a robust local culture through a broad selection of books, programming, and the free exchange of ideas. We’re committed to exceptional customer service and the values of inclusion, diversity, and independence.

Storytime at Rough Point: The Outermost Mouse

Storytime at Rough Point: The Outermost Mouse

by | Jun 27, 2026

Calling all adventurers and explorers for some outsized storytime fun!  Join us and our friends at Charter Books for our next Community Book Event, Storytime at Rough Point: The Outermost Mouse, with author Lauren Wolk.

A tiny-but-mighty little mouse faces down an incoming storm to protect her home. A tribute to courage and the rugged beauty of Cape Cod from Newbery Honor–winning author Lauren Wolk.

“A triumphant tale of defending what you love.″ —Kirkus, starred review

The Outermost Mouse loves her life at the tip of the beach. She has blue sky above and sand as warm and soft as her mother below.

Best of all is the house, a huge nest she has made her own. There are jam-jar posies, lanterns full of gold, and a clock that tick-tocks her to sleep at night.

But a storm is coming. When the sky goes dark and a cold wind rises, the little mouse must do everything she can to protect her home. Even though she’s small enough to fit into a teacup, the Outermost Mouse is smart, strong, and brave—and ready to face the wild waves.

Recommended for ages 2-5.

Entrance to Rough Point Museum is included.

This event is FREE, but space is limited so please RSVP here in advance.

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About the author & illustrator:

Lauren Wolk is an award–winning poet, artist, and novelist. She is the author of Echo Mountain, My Own Lightning, Newbery Honor–winner Wolf Hollow, and Scott O’Dell Award-winner Beyond the Bright Sea. Lauren was born in Baltimore and has since lived in California, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Canada, and Ohio. She now lives with her family on Cape Cod.

Illustrator Kristen Adam brilliantly captures the snug warmth and fierce beauty of the Outermost Mouse’s shoreline world in Newbery Honor–winning author Lauren Wolk’s glorious tribute to the courage and tenacity of a tiny-but-mighty heroine.

About our partner, Charter Books:
Founded in 2020, Charter Books is a Newport-based business whose mission is to cultivate community and a robust local culture through a broad selection of books, programming, and the free exchange of ideas. We’re committed to exceptional customer service and the values of inclusion, diversity, and independence.

Book Event: Gilded Age Fashion by Dr. Elizabeth L. Block

Book Event: Gilded Age Fashion by Dr. Elizabeth L. Block

by | Mar 7, 2026

In partnership with our friends at Charter Books, join us for an event with author Dr. Elizabeth Block as she shares the details and stories that bring garments to life, revealing the personal narratives and politics that shape American clothing.

The evening will begin with an unveiling of a new rotation of fashion objects from Doris Duke’s wardrobe on view in our special exhibition Fashioning Resiliency: Doris Duke’s Legacy of Conservation, followed by an illustrative talk by Dr. Elizabeth Block. Dr. Block will be on hand after the talk to sign and personalize copies of her book.

Doors open at 5:00 PM for viewing of Fashioning Resiliency and the talk begins at 5:30 PM.

$15 general admission; FREE for Newport County Residents. SOLD OUT

About Gilded Age Fashion:
Transport yourself to the Gilded Age. Discover its most influential fashions with this in-depth look at fifty gowns created by the late 19th-century founders of couture. The book highlights a selection from renowned museum collections.

Author Elizabeth Block details the social etiquette and customs that guided the sartorial choices of the fabulously wealthy. Each sumptuous gown featured tells a story about its creator and the woman who wore it, and the opulent balls, opera nights, charity benefits, and society weddings she might have attended. Three illustrated sections are organized by the times of day when the finest quality clothing was worn, from an afternoon dress by Emile Pingat to a custom-made silk ball gown by Charles Frederick Worth.

 

About Elizabeth L. Block:
Elizabeth L. Block, an art historian, is a Senior Editor in the Publications and Editorial Department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Dr. Block earned her PhD in art history at The Graduate Center, City University of New York. She also holds an MA in American Studies from Columbia University, and a BA in English and Art History from The George Washington University. She is also the author of Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing, and Dressing Up: The Women Who Influenced French Fashion. Her articles appear in American Art, Town & Country, and Slate.

About our partner, Charter Books:
Founded in 2020, Charter Books is a Newport-based business whose mission is to cultivate community and a robust local culture through a broad selection of books, programming, and the free exchange of ideas. We’re committed to exceptional customer service and the values of inclusion, diversity, and independence.

Community Book Event: Reading with the Elephants

Community Book Event: Reading with the Elephants

by | Jul 26, 2024

Calling all adventurers and explorers for some elephant-sized fun! Join us and our friends at Charter Books for our next Community Book Event, Reading with The Elephants at Rough Point. This program includes storytime and a craft-making activity.
Recommended for ages 2-5.

Entrance to The Great Elephant Migration installation and Rough Point Museum is included with Reading with the Elephants.

This event is FREE, but space is limited so please RSVP here in advance.

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About our partner, Charter Books:
Founded in 2020, Charter Books is a Newport-based business whose mission is to cultivate community and a robust local culture through a broad selection of books, programming, and the free exchange of ideas. We’re committed to exceptional customer service and the values of inclusion, diversity, and independence.

Storytime at Rough Point: Meet the Wild Things

Storytime at Rough Point: Meet the Wild Things

by | Jul 19, 2024

Calling all adventurers and explorers for some *wild* storytime fun!  Join us and our friends at Charter Books for our next Community Book Event, Storytime at Rough Point: Meet the Wild Things. Haley and John Rocco, the author and illustrator team behind the picture book Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough, will lead a storytime featuring amazing animals from around the globe.

Recommended for ages 2-5.

Entrance to Rough Point Museum is included.

This event is FREE, but space is limited so please RSVP here in advance.

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About the authors: HAYLEY AND JOHN ROCCO are both ambassadors for Wild Tomorrow, a nonprofit focused on conservation and rewilding South Africa. They are the author and illustrator team behind the picture book Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough. John is also the #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator of many acclaimed books for children, some of which he also wrote, including Blackout, the recipient of a Caldecott Honor, and How We Got to the Moon, which received a Sibert Honor and was longlisted for the National Book Award. Learn more at MeetTheWildThings.com.

Hayley Rocco is the author of Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough, How to Send a Hug, All the Books, and the Meet the Wild Things series, all in collaboration with her husband, John Rocco.
John Rocco is the #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of many acclaimed books for children, including Blackout, the recipient of a Caldecott Honor, and How We Got to the Moon, which received a Sibert Honor and was longlisted for the National Book Award.

About our partner, Charter Books:
Founded in 2020, Charter Books is a Newport-based business whose mission is to cultivate community and a robust local culture through a broad selection of books, programming, and the free exchange of ideas. We’re committed to exceptional customer service and the values of inclusion, diversity, and independence.