We are thrilled to have a double header book signing at the shop!! Come meet Emily Franklin and Annie Hartnett, both of whom will be in store to sign copies of their latest releases, The Lioness of Boston (Franklin) and The Road to Tender Hearts (Hartnett).

Date: Saturday, December 20th

Time: 12pm - 2pm

Free event, books are available for purchase - get your copies signed between 12-2! Pre-order a copy by emailing hello@theyellowhouseri.com.

About the book - The Lioness of Boston:

“Brings Isabella Stewart Gardner fully, intimately alive—irrepressible and avid for life. In this richly compelling novel, Emily Franklin beautifully conjures this extraordinary woman and her world.”—Claire Messud, author of The Emperor's Children

A deeply evocative portrayal of the life of Isabella Stewart Gardner, the daring trailblazer who not only created an inimitable legacy in American art but also transformed a city.

By the time Isabella Stewart Gardner opened her Italian palazzo-style home as a museum in 1903 to showcase her collection of old masters, antiques, and objects d’art, she was already well-known for scandalizing Boston’s polite society. But when Isabella first arrived in Boston in 1861, she was twenty years old, newly married to a wealthy trader, and unsure of herself. Puzzled by the frosty reception she received from stuffy bluebloods, she strived to fit in. After two devastating tragedies and rejection from upper society, Isabella discovered her spirit and cast off expectations.

Freed by travel, Isabella explores the world of art, ideas, and letters, meeting such kindred spirits as Henry James and Oscar Wilde. From London and Paris to Egypt and Asia, she develops a keen eye for paintings and objects, and meets feminists ready to transform nineteenth century thinking in the twentieth century. Isabella becomes her own person, painted by John Singer Sargent in a portrait of daring décolletage, and fond of such stunts as walking a pair of lions in the Boston Public Garden. With a mission to make art accessible to the public, Isabella becomes the first woman to open a museum in the United States.

The Lioness of Boston is a portrait of what society expected a woman’s life to be, shattered by a courageous soul who rebelled and was determined to live on her own terms.

About the Author - Emily Franklin:

Emily Franklin is the bestselling author of more than twenty books including The Lioness of Boston, based on the life of trailblazer Isabella Stewart Gardner, now in its tenth printing and recently featured as a clue on Jeopardy! Her poetry, fiction, essays, and photos have been published in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Kenyon Review, Guernica, and The Journal of the American Medical Association, among many other places, as well as featured and read aloud on National Public Radio, longlisted for the London Sunday Times Short Story Award and named notable by the Association of Jewish Libraries. Her next novel Love & Other Monsters, historical fiction based on the forgotten—but important life of Claire Clairmont, Mary Shelley’s step sister, will be published in April 2026.

About the book - The Road to Tender Hearts:

A darkly comic and warm-hearted novel about an old man on a cross-country mission to reunite with his high school crush—bringing together his adult daughter, two orphaned kids, and a cat who can predict death—by the beloved author of Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals

“A miraculous novel—an actual and spiritual road trip you won’t forget.”—John Irving

At sixty-three years old, million-dollar lottery winner PJ Halliday would be the luckiest man in Pondville, Massachusetts, if it weren’t for the tragedies of his life: the sudden death of his eldest daughter and the way his marriage fell apart after that. Since then, PJ spends both his money and his time at the bar, and he probably doesn’t have much time left—he’s had three heart attacks already.

But when PJ reads the obituary of his old romantic rival, he realizes his high school sweetheart, Michelle Cobb, is finally single again. Filled with a new enthusiasm for life, PJ decides he’s going to drive across the country to the Tender Hearts Retirement Community in Arizona to win Michelle back.

Before PJ can hit the road, tragedy strikes Pondville, leaving PJ the sudden guardian of his estranged brother’s grandchildren. Anyone else would be deterred from the planned trip, but PJ figures the orphaned kids might benefit from getting out of town. PJ also thinks he can ask Sophie, his adult daughter who’s adrift in her twenties, to come along to babysit. And there’s one more surprise addition to the roster: Pancakes, a former nursing home therapy cat with a knack of predicting death, who recently turned up outside PJ’s home.

This could be the second chance PJ has long hoped for—a fresh shot at love and parenting—but does he have the strength to do both those things again? It’s very possible his heart can’t take it.

About the Author - Annie Hartnett:

Annie Hartnett is the bestselling author of three novels: Rabbit Cake, Unlikely Animals, and The Road to Tender Hearts, which won the 2025 New England Book Award for fiction. Annie has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the MacDowell Colony, Sewanee Writers' Conference, and the Associates of the Boston Public Library. Along with the writer Tessa Fontaine, she co-runs Accountability Workshops for writers, helping writers commit to routines and embrace the long, slow, joyful, terrible process of doing the work. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and dog.

Food bank fundraiser!

When: Sunday, 12/14, from 12-2pm & Saturday, 12/20, from 12-2pm

What: Make both an in-store purchase and a monetary food bank donation and receive **complimentary** gift wrapping. Our team will wrap your gifts beautifully with complimentary paper and ribbon (or you can bring or buy your own paper for them to use)! 

100% of cash donations collected will be distributed to the Tiverton High School Food Pantry and the Little Compton Food Bank.

Food bank fundraiser!

When: Sunday, 12/14, from 12-2pm & Saturday, 12/20, from 12-2pm

What: Make both an in-store purchase and a monetary food bank donation and receive **complimentary** gift wrapping. Our team will wrap your gifts beautifully with complimentary paper and ribbon (or you can bring or buy your own paper for them to use)! 

100% of cash donations collected will be distributed to the Tiverton High School Food Pantry and the Little Compton Food Bank.

Our December book club will look a little different! Join us on December 9th for a little pre-holiday get together. We will dive into two wonderful cookbooks - feel free to bring a dish from either book to share (finger foods or desserts, anything that is easy to eat in the shop). Making a recipe is definitely not a requirement, feel free to just join us for conversation, to chat about the books, swap recipe stories, and celebrate our book clubs - we will have snacks and treats to share!

Both of these titles also make great gifts. Make a recipe, join us, and then gift the book to a friend!

Sign up for the book club in store or by emailing us and get 10% off the purchase of the featured book.

Holiday Book Club Gathering! - Tuesday, December 9th - 6:00 - 7:00 pm

Linger: Salads, Sweets and Stories to Savor: A Cookbook by Hetty Lui McKinnon

With Linger, food writer and bestselling cookbook author Hetty Lui McKinnon has invited friends into her home, to share salads, sweets and stories around her dining room table. Linger documents these intimate gatherings, with vegetable-laden, loosely seasonal menus enjoyed and photographed in real time.

With over 100 inventive recipes for meal-worthy salads, smaller bites and simple sweets, Hetty invites you to become a part of an unforgettable shared experience of community, food and friendship.

Scandinavian from Scratch: A Love Letter to the Baking of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden by Nichole Accettola

Transport the taste of Scandinavia to your home kitchen with the delightful sweet and savory bites compiled in this delightful baking book. From chef Nichole Accettola, Scandinavian from Scratch brings to the page an assortment of baked goods and simple morning and midday meals rooted in Scandinavian cuisine.

After moving back to the United States following more than a decade abroad, Accettola found herself longing for the wholesome breads, buttery pastries, decadent cakes, and cookies that she enjoyed on a daily basis while living in Copenhagen. She set out on a mission to bring the tastes and treats of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark to San Francisco and opened her now beloved bakery café, Kantine. 

In Scandinavian from Scratch, Accettola has curated 75 delicious bakes, organized by occasion and arranged from simplest to most complex, drawing from her collection of each Scandinavian country’s baking traditions. Fill your home kitchen with the enticing aromas of Coconut Dream Cake, Black Currant Caves, Cardamom Morning Buns, Saffron Rusks, Gravlax and Chive Potato Salad Smørrebrød, and so much more. The easy-to-follow recipes will expand your baking horizons and bring something special to the table, from breakfast and brunch to afternoon tea to holiday celebrations.

We are thrilled to have Rhode Island author, Polina Chesnakova, in store to sign copies of her new cookbook, Chesnok: Cooking from My Corner of the Diaspora: Recipes from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

Date: Saturday, December 6th

Time: 12pm - 2pm

Free event, books are available for purchase - get your copy signed between 12-2! Pre-order a copy by emailing hello@theyellowhouseri.com.

About the book

A lovingly-documented collection of recipes and stories from growing up and cooking in the Soviet diaspora, by one of the industry’s brightest stars.

Chesnok: Recipes with Love from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Beyond is Polina Chesnakova’s third cookbook, a love letter to the food of her childhood. Born in Ukraine to Russian and Armenian parents from Georgia, she grew up cooking and eating at the hip of her mother and aunts.

From Georgian tkemali (sour plum sauce) and Armenian gata (butter pastry) to Ukrainian varenyky (dumplings) and Russian golubtsy (stuffed cabbage rolls) and medovik (honey cake), Chesnok showcases over 110 vibrant regional recipes. Essays, stories, and profiles of the amazing cooks in her life are peppered amongst recipes as diverse as the communities from which they blossomed and the immigrant experience they were subsequently passed down in.

Chesnok paints a potrait of the Soviet diaspora through food, and is for the children of that diaspora, but it is also for anyone looking to expand their palate and pantry and learn the rich history of a people through their most cherished recipes and traditions.

About the Author

Polina Chesnakova was born in Ukraine to Russian and Armenian parents from the country of Georgia. She was raised in a tight-knit Rhode Island community of refugees from all over the former Soviet Union, and has cooked and baked in a handful of professional kitchens. She’s had her blog (now newsletter) Chesnok since 2015, and her work has been published in Saveur, Epicurious, The Washington Post, and Food 52. She has written two cookbooks: Hot Cheese and Everyday Cake. She worked for Book Larder in Seattle and presided over the cooking class program as the Culinary Director from 2021-2023. She lives in Rhode Island with her husband, Lee, and son, Anton.

Holiday Bright Night in Tiverton Four Corners, RI

Friday, December 5, 2025 4-7pm

The Yellow House is excited to be participating in our second Bright Night! We will be hosting Sakonnet Vineyard - come have some wine and browse the books, gifts, and art!

Visit Tiverton Four Corners on Friday, December 5, 2025, 4-7pm for our annual Holiday Bright Night, an evening of energy-filled holiday shopping. Frolic through a festive, brightly lit neighborhood of galleries & shops as you enjoy holiday décor & special offers to complete your list. Santa will be waiting for you at the Cheese Wheel Village Market. Be sure to bring your camera!

Humphrey’s Building Supply is generously sponsoring re-Tree & Bright Night this year. Tiverton Farmers Market, Tiverton Economic Development Commission, West Place Animal Sanctuary, Four Corners Merchants & The Bay Magazine are contributors to the evening events in Tiverton Four Corners.

Luminaries will light the way as you visit an array of shops in the historic & beautiful village. The Four Corners Arts Center is pleased to be hosting their annual re-Tree Community Exhibition opening on December 5, 2025, adding even more lights & magic to the area. re-Tree is a festive showcase of sculptural homemade trees created with recycled & repurposed materials. Come vote for your favorite between 12/5-12/19; popular vote winners will be announced December 19, 2025.

Join Us!!

You are invited to kick off the winter holiday season with our Wreath Making Made Simple Workshop hosted by Gina at Studio Big Rock!

In this festive session, you will be craft your very own winter holiday wreath using sustainable, local plant material.

A fun and relaxing activity solo or with friends and family!

All materials included:

·       fresh local South Coast evergreens 

·        pre-made wreath forms

·       wire and tools.

What to bring:

·       Casual clothing or apron as we will be handling plant materials.

·       Optional - Your own garden hand nippers and wire cutter/pliers to cut greens (if you have them)

·       Optional - Gardening gloves for delicate hands.

·       Optional - Plant material you would prefer to use. Please make sure it is evergreen to survive the season. Think pines and holly.

We will have your wreath making form, a few nippers, a few wire cutters, wire  greens, bows, and guidance!

Date: Sunday, November 30th

Morning Session: 10:00 am - 12:30 pm

Afternoon Session: 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm

Fee: $80 per person includes all materials

RSVP in store or email hello@theyellowhouseri.com

As part of our One Year Anniversary Party please come by to meet USA Today bestselling author, Vanessa Lillie, as we celebrate the release of her new book, The Bone Thief.

Date: Saturday, November 29th

Time: 12pm - 2pm

Free event, books are available for purchase - get your copy signed between 12-2! Pre-order a copy by emailing hello@theyellowhouseri.com.

About the book

"The Bone Thief is a riveting mystery with a plot that seamlessly blends history with fiction. And Syd Walker is an unforgettable protagonist."
—Liz Moore, New York Times bestselling author of The God of the Woods

When a Native teenager vanishes from her small town—a place with dark ties to an elite historical society—archaeologist Syd Walker is called to investigate...from bestselling author Vanessa Lillie.

In the hours before dawn at a local summer camp, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker receives an alarming call: newly discovered skeletal remains have been stolen. Not only have bones gone missing, but a Native teen girl has disappeared near the camp, and law enforcement dismisses her family's fears.

As Syd investigates both crimes, she's drawn into a world of privileged campers and their wealthy parents—most of them members of the Founders Society, an exclusive club whose members trace their lineage to the first colonists and claim ancestral rights to the land, despite fierce objections from the local tribal community. And it's not the first time something—or someone—has gone missing from the camp.

The deeper Syd digs, the more she realizes these aren't isolated incidents. A pattern of disappearances stretches back generations, all leading to the Founders Society's doorstep. But exposing the truth means confronting not just the town's most powerful families, but also a legacy of violence that refuses to stay buried.

From the national bestselling author of Blood Sisters (a Washington Post Best Mystery of the Year and Target Book Club pick) comes a new Syd Walker novel that proves the sins of the past are destined to repeat until the truth is finally unearthed.

About the Author

Vanessa Lillie is the USA Today bestselling author of Blood Sisters, a new series centered on the stories of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which was a Target Book Club pick and GMA Book Club Buzz Pick, as well as a best mystery of the year from the Washington Post, Amazon Editor’s and Reader’s Digest. The sequel, The Bone Thief, will be released October 28th. Her other bestselling thrillers are Little Voices, For the Best and she’s the creator and coauthor of the # 1 Audible Charts bestseller and International Thriller Writers award nominated, Young Rich Widows series, set in Providence, RI where she lives. Originally from Miami, Oklahoma, she is a proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation.

Vanessa was a Sisters in Crime board member and wrote a weekly column for the Providence Journal about her experiences during the first year of the pandemic. She hosts an Instagram Live show, ‘Twas the Night Before Book Launch, where she chats with authors the night before their book is out in the world.

The Yellow House is excited to join the lineup of wonderful vendors participating in the 11/23 Thanksgiving Cranberry Craze Market! We will have books, cook books, gift and holiday items, and more! Come by and say hi!

Join our bookseller, Andrea, as she leads discussions around powerful new releases. Sign up for the book club in store or by emailing us and get 10% off the purchase of the featured book.

Fiction Book Club - Wednesday, November 12th - 6:00 - 7:00 pm

November’s fiction book club features “A Guardian and a Thief” by Megha Majumdar.

FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • FINALIST FOR THE KIRKUS PRIZE • Megha Majumdar’s electrifying new novel, following her acclaimed New York Times bestseller A Burning—longlisted for the National Book Award—is set in a near-future Kolkata, India, ravaged by climate change and food scarcity, in which two families seeking to protect their children must battle each other. A piercing and propulsive tour de force.

In a near-future Kolkata beset by flooding and famine, Ma, her two-year-old daughter, and her elderly father are just days from leaving the collapsing city behind to join Ma’s husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After procuring long-awaited visas from the consulate, they pack their bags for the flight to America. But in the morning they awaken to discover that Ma’s purse, containing their treasured immigration documents, has been stolen.

Set over the course of one week, A Guardian and a Thief tells two stories: the story of Ma’s frantic search for the thief while keeping hunger at bay during a worsening food shortage; and the story of Boomba, the thief, whose desperation to care for his family drives him to commit a series of escalating crimes whose consequences he cannot fathom. With stunning control and command, Megha Majumdar paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of two families, each operating from a place of ferocious love and undefeated hope, each discovering how far they will go to secure their children’s future as they stave off encroaching catastrophe.

A masterful new work from one of the most exciting voices of her generation.

Buy a copy in store, use our libro.fm site to download the audiobook while supporting the shop, or grab a copy at the library!

The Yellow House is excited to be a vendor at the third annual festive Mount Hope Farm Sip & Shop!

About the Market

Join us at historic Mount Hope Farm as we welcome the holidays with this special event in our beautifully decorated Barn. Discover unique gifts and seasonal treasures from a variety of local vendors, perfect for checking off your holiday shopping list. Enjoy an evening of holiday cheer as you sip on signature cocktails from Two Gals Cocktails and savor delicious bites from Wedge Cheese Shop, Mason & Twine and Seb's Woodfired Pizza. Take in the festive atmosphere and stroll through our gardens, sit by our solo stoves, soaking in the beauty of the season while you enjoy the company of friends and family.

Vendors Include: M.EYEimages, Susan Troy Cloth, Therapy Boutiques Co., The Yellow House, Fenwick & Oliver, Fruitcake Designs, Simply Chickie, The Robins Egg, Violet Drury, Aucoin Designs, Lizzytish Designs, Coastal Creations, Sealevel Creations, Owl &Hive Apothecary

Tickets:
Pre-registration is encouraged, and a tax-deductible donation to Mount Hope Farm, a nonprofit organization, is greatly appreciated.

Tickets will also be available on the night of the event for a $5 fee.

Come celebrate the magic of the holidays at Mount Hope Farm and find something special for everyone on your list!

The Yellow House will be selling copies of Stefanie Foster Brown’s debut release, “My Heart Speaks Kriolu” at the New Bedford Art Museum Family Storytime.

Where: New Bedford Art Museum, 608 Pleasant St, New Bedford, MA 02740

When: Sunday, November 2, 2025 - 2pm - 5pm

Free admission / Storybook afternoon with author Stefanie Foster Brown, copies available for purchase from 2pm-5pm.

About the book:

On Saturday walks with her grandfather, a young girl connects with her Cabo Verdean heritage while learning about the true meaning of home in this moving debut picture book.

Papa always speaks of someday bringing his granddaughter back home to Cabo Verde. But the young girl has never set foot on their ancestral island’s faraway shores. And each time Papa urges her to speak Kriolu, the Portuguese creole native to the West African country, the girl’s tongue betrays her, and she stumbles over her own words. If she can’t even get the language right, can her grandfather’s home ever truly be hers, too?

But each Saturday afternoon when she helps guide her sight-impaired grandfather through their close-knit Massachusetts community, the girl swears she can smell, hear, feel Kriolu. And each Saturday she comes closer to discovering where home truly lies.

About the author:

Stefanie Foster Brown is a fourth-generation Cabo Verdean American whose grandparents were the last in her family to speak Kriolu. A former school psychologist, Stefanie lives in Connecticut with her family. My Heart Speaks Kriolu, inspired by Stefanie's memories of taking walks with her Papa in New Bedford, Massachusetts, is her debut book. Visit Stefanie at StefFosterBrown.com or on social media @StefFosterBrown.

Keisha Morris is an illustrator living and working in Maryland. What she loves about her illustration process most is creating characters whose personalities jump off the page. She earned her BFA in illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and mentored with illustrators such as Sean Qualls, Selina Alko, and Dan Santat. When she is not drawing, she loves spending time with her wife, daughter, and two wild cats Elphie and Ollie.

The Yellow House will be selling copies of Stefanie Foster Brown’s debut release, “My Heart Speaks Kriolu” at the Gomes School Library Day of Celebration.

Where: Alfred J. Gomes Elementary School Library, 286 South Second St, NB, MA 02740

When: Friday, October 31, 2025 - 10am - 12pm

Book reading at 10:45 am, copies available for purchase from 10am-12pm.

About the book:

On Saturday walks with her grandfather, a young girl connects with her Cabo Verdean heritage while learning about the true meaning of home in this moving debut picture book.

Papa always speaks of someday bringing his granddaughter back home to Cabo Verde. But the young girl has never set foot on their ancestral island’s faraway shores. And each time Papa urges her to speak Kriolu, the Portuguese creole native to the West African country, the girl’s tongue betrays her, and she stumbles over her own words. If she can’t even get the language right, can her grandfather’s home ever truly be hers, too?

But each Saturday afternoon when she helps guide her sight-impaired grandfather through their close-knit Massachusetts community, the girl swears she can smell, hear, feel Kriolu. And each Saturday she comes closer to discovering where home truly lies.

About the author:

Stefanie Foster Brown is a fourth-generation Cabo Verdean American whose grandparents were the last in her family to speak Kriolu. A former school psychologist, Stefanie lives in Connecticut with her family. My Heart Speaks Kriolu, inspired by Stefanie's memories of taking walks with her Papa in New Bedford, Massachusetts, is her debut book. Visit Stefanie at StefFosterBrown.com or on social media @StefFosterBrown.

Keisha Morris is an illustrator living and working in Maryland. What she loves about her illustration process most is creating characters whose personalities jump off the page. She earned her BFA in illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and mentored with illustrators such as Sean Qualls, Selina Alko, and Dan Santat. When she is not drawing, she loves spending time with her wife, daughter, and two wild cats Elphie and Ollie.

Join our bookseller, Andrea, as she leads discussions around two powerful new releases. Sign up for the book club in store or by emailing us and get 10% off the purchase of the featured book.

Non-fiction Book Club - Tuesday, October 28th - 6:00 - 7:00 pm

October’s non-fiction book club features “A Marriage at Sea” by Sophie Elmhirst.

“A beautiful meditation on endurance, codependence, and the power of love. A dazzling book.” – Patrick Radden Keefe

“Stark, elemental, and sure to be a classic.” —Hampton Sides

“An enthralling, engrossing story of survival and the resilience of the human spirit.” —Bill Bryson

The electrifying true story of a young couple shipwrecked at sea: a mind-blowing tale of obsession, survival, and partnership stretched to its limits.

Maurice and Maralyn make an odd couple. He’s a loner, awkward and obsessive; she’s charismatic and ambitious. But they share a horror of wasting their lives. And they dream – as we all dream – of running away from it all. What if they quit their jobs, sold their house, bought a boat, and sailed away?

Most of us begin and end with the daydream. But Maurice began to study nautical navigation. Maralyn made detailed lists of provisions. And in June 1972, they set sail. For nearly a year all went well, until deep in the Pacific, a breaching whale knocked a hole in their boat and it sank beneath the waves.

What ensues is a jaw-dropping fight to survive in the wild ocean, with little hope of rescue. Alone together for months in a tiny rubber raft, starving and exhausted, Maurice and Maralyn have to find not only ways to stay alive but ways to get along, as their inner demons emerge and their marriage is put to the greatest of tests. Although they could run away from the world, they can’t run away from themselves.

Taut, propulsive, and dazzling, A Marriage at Sea pairs an adrenaline-fueled high seas adventure with a gutting love story that asks why we love difficult people, and who we become under the most extreme conditions imaginable.

Join Michi for a Fall Tarot Reading Session at The Yellow House! Pass through the snake curtain into our back room and be transported into another realm for a beautiful session with Michi. Each 20 minute tarot and oracle card reading session begins with a mini cleansing/protection meditation. Book ahead with Michi (@mich_tarot) or drop in on 10/25!

When: Saturday, October 25th, 12pm-4pm

Where: The Yellow House, 3842 Main Road, Tiverton, RI 02878

Cost: $35 per 20 minute session

About Michi

Michi (@mich_tarot) is a reiki certified energy worker, witchcraft practitioner, and professional card and rune reader with a tarot room in an artist collaborative in Westport, MA. Her thousands of readings focus on empowerment and positivity, with an extra dash of magick and intuitive wisdom. With a Master’s degree in Education, sessions center around safe and sacred exchanges of information, symbolic interpretations of messages, and creating goals and affirmations aligned with each individual’s unique story- come sit a spell.

Join our bookseller, Andrea, as she leads discussions around two powerful new releases. Sign up for the book club in store or by emailing us and get 10% off the purchase of the featured book.

Fiction Book Club - Wednesday, October 15th - 6:00 - 7:00 pm

October’s fiction book club features “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans.

“Subtly told and finely made, The Correspondent is a portrait of a small life expanding. Virginia Evans shows how one woman changes at a point when change had seemed impossible. That change, like this novel, turns out to be a cause for celebration.”—Ann Patchett

A woman tries to heal old wounds and make sense of the world the only way she knows how—through letters—in this charming, laugh out loud debut novel about a life fully lived.

“Dear Ms. Van Antwerp,
There is a movie coming out this month and I saw the trailer and it made me think of you. It’s about an old woman who lives alone like a hermit.  She is eccentric and rude….”

Sybil Van Antwerp is a mother and grandmother, divorced, retired from a distinguished career in law, an avid gardener, and a writer of letters. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books. 

Because at seventy-three, Sybil has used her letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. But as Sybil expects her life to go on as it always has, letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life.

Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel that is a testament to the power of the written word.

Join Gina of Studio Big Rock at The Yellow House on Saturday, October 11th! Flowers vs the Frost is a celebration embracing the end of our beautiful Farmcoast growing season. Let’s bring all the remaining flowers together for one last joyful arrangement before the frost takes them away. This will be a collaborative installation using flower petals to create images on the lawn of The Yellow House. This unique collaborative craft was inspired by the Day of the Dead floral imagery in Mexico that happens every year on November 2nd.

Join us! Participation is free. Materials will be provided, but feel free to bring any flowers still left in your garden to add into the mix.

We will also have another FarmCoast Folks pop up tent on the side lawn! You can purchase a kit ($20) to take home and build or you can build it on site if you want a little guidance or inspiration, we just ask that you bring whatever outfit you’ll want to use for your creation! We will have some hay for stuffing available on site. Keep your FarmCoast Folks up for the month of October and send us photos of your creations if you want them shared online!

The Yellow House, 3842 Main Road, Tiverton Four Corners

Join us for a delicious pop-up from the good folks at Middletown based Doughpamine Bakery at The Yellow House on Saturday, 10/4 from 11am - 2pm. There will be an assortment of delicious bagels and pecan caramel popcorn for sale!

Doughpamine Bakery is a woman-owned micro-bakehouse nestled in the heart of Middletown, Rhode Island.

Fully cottage‑licensed, they handcraft every loaf of bread and bagel using simple, wholesome ingredients, no unnecessary preservatives or chemicals. Their commitment lies in traditional baking methods and pure, nourishing ingredients that deliver flavor and quality in every bite.

PRE-ORDER DISCOUNT!

The first ten pre-orders are eligible for 10% off using code POPUPYELLOW10. Use this LINK to shop.

It is not necessary to pre-order but it will ensure you can grab some bagels or popcorn!

They will be in store from 11am - 2pm or until they sell out! Swing by to meet the bakers, shop local, and support small businesses!

Follow them on Instagram at @doughpaminebakehouse

Follow them on Facebook at doughpaminebakehouse

Join our bookseller, Andrea, as she leads discussions around two powerful new releases. Sign up for the book club in store or by emailing us and get 10% off the purchase of the featured book.

Non-Fiction Book Club - Tuesday, Sep 30th 6-7pm

September’s non-fiction book club features “The Salt Stones: Seasons of a Shepherd’s Life” by Helen Whybrow. Set in Vermont's Green Mountains, a profoundly moving meditation on the lessons and wisdom that come from raising a family, tending sheep, and living close to the land.

We’re kicking off a new autumn tradition! The Yellow House and Studio Big Rock invite you and your family to celebrate the month of October by building your own FarmCoast Folk scarecrow(s)!

How to participate:

1. Pick up your kit at the Yellow House (3842 Main Road, Tiverton, RI). Kits are available for $20 from September 20th until early October. Kits have detailed instructions.

2. We will be hosting a pop-up FarmCoast Folk scarecrow building event with Studio Big Rock on Saturday, 9/20 from 12-3pm. You can swing by - watch the team build scarecrows, purchase a kit, begin crafting your own under the tent, or take a kit home to build! If you’d like to craft your own at the pop-up just bring $20 for a kit and some clothing/wardrobe for your own build!

3. Choose your favorite character, tale, or let your imagination run wild when crafting your own scarecrow.

4. Display on your lawn during the month of October.

5. If you completed your piece and would like us to post it, stop by The Yellow House to chat, email photos to hello@theyellowhouseri.com or tag us on social media @theyellowhouse_ri

Join our bookseller, Andrea, as she leads discussions around two powerful new releases. Sign up for the book club in store or by emailing us and get 10% off the purchase of the featured book.

Fiction Book Club - Tuesday, Sep 16th 6-7pm 

September’s fiction book club features “Culpability” by Bruce Holsinger. A suspenseful family drama about moral responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence.

Join our bookseller, Andrea, as she leads story hour in our children’s nook! Sign up in store - our first ever story hour will take place Wednesday, September 3rd from 10-11 am. Andrea will read from two to three great picture books, come join us! Appropriate for children 2-5 years old, all children must be supervised by their parent/caregiver during the story hour.

Join LitArts RI on Sat, Aug 23 from 12pm-4pm for a community write-in at The Yellow House, a bookstore located in Tiverton Four Corners. Gather with fellow writers from across Rhode Island to work on your individual project in a community setting. Browse books and settle into The Yellow House’s event space (limited interior seating), or bring a blanket or chair to write outside in the nearby sculpture garden. Four Corners offers inspiration for writers, from the bookstore to nearby art galleries, and food from local cafés like Groundswell, The Cheese Wheel and Four Corners Grille to fuel your writing! Meet fellow creatives and spend time generating work in an inspiring environment.

When: Saturday, August 23rd from 12pm-4pm

Rain Date: Sun, Aug 24, 12-4pm

Cost: Free!

RSVP LINK: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/four-corners-write-in-at-the-yellow-house-tickets-1419742360619

What to Bring

• Chair or blanket (if you wish to write outside)

• Notebook and/or charged laptop

• Writing utensil

• Water/beverage (no alcohol please)

• Food/snacks

• Sunscreen

• Bugspray

• Headphones

Location & Parking

The Yellow House

3842 Main Rd.

Tiverton, RI 02878

Parking available at The Yellow House, behind The Four Corners Gallery, and throughout the area.

Portapotties are available

Accessibility

Please note that the bookstore is in a historic house that is not wheelchair accessible. LitArts RI is actively committed to cultivating a community that values and reflects diversity, equity and inclusivity and to providing programming that is accessible to all attendees. Please let us know about any accommodations we can make to allow you to participate in this event.

Flower Pounding (Hapa Zome) with Studio Big Rock! Drop In Outdoor Crafting Event!

Sunday, August 17th, from 12:00pm – 4:00pm

• Event length: 20 minutes + (feel free to stay as long as you like!)

• Drop in event!

• No experience needed! All ages (kids with adult supervision)

• $20 per person (leave with your own fabricated bandana, tea towel, or wine tote bag)

Join us for a drop in event on our side lawn! Did you know that if you hammer a flower onto a piece of fabric it can produce a beautiful design? The hammering transfers the color and pattern of the flower, actually dying the fabric with gratifying results.

If this sounds interesting to you, come join our community of crafters in this very therapeutic session. Not only will you work out any aggressions through group hammering, but you will leave some lasting impressions.

We will show you which local flowers work best (we’ve tried many). You will also learn how to make the natural dye more permanent. We will have some samples and give you some ideas on how to approach your design. You will leave with a lovely tea towel, bandana, or wine gift bag imprinted with local blossoms.

Provided:

• local flowers and plant material

• 2 prepared textiles (One for practice and another for keeps)

• Guidance and encouragement

• Good music

Bring:

• A hammer (if you can, we will also have a few to use)

Optional: Ear protection if you have it

Optional: Some flowers and leaves that you might like to experiment with.

About the Instructor:

Georgina Melone of Studio Big Rock comes to us from a vibrant design career in the Toy and Entertainment world where she has spent her adulthood tinkering with beloved brands such as Playdoh, My Little Pony, Transformers, and so many more. Most recently, Gina has led the Futuring Team at Hasbro and served as the Global VP of Innovation and Design.

Gina has now entered her “Third Act”, where she is pioneering her role as the Chief Creative behind Studio Big Rock. This mischief-making includes inventing, lecturing and consulting with individuals and corporations.

Also, as a RISD grad, Gina has always enjoyed giving back by teaching and lecturing at RISD, URI, Pratt, Ringling School of Design among others.

So now, at Studio Big Rock she is passionate about sharing the joy of creating by inviting everyone to become makers through teaching meaningful craft experiences.

“At Studio Big Rock, we believe that everyone has the innate ability to create. Come and play with us and reconnect with your maker self.”

Please join us for a reading, Q&A, and signing with local translator Bente Hoegsberg as she presents her newly released book, “The Mountain Gardener”.

• When: Tuesday, August 12th @ 4:00 pm

• Space is limited. First come, first serve.

• Pre-order your copy by emailing hello@theyellowhouseri.com

The Mountain Gardener:

Written by Elisabeth Sparstad, Vang i Valdres, Norway

Published as Grønn Lidenskap, Landbruksforlaget 2000

Translated from the Norwegian by Bente Y. Hoegsberg

Illustrations by Julienne Alexander

Photographs by Tanaquil Enzensberger and Nils Leine

This book is about a dream and making the dream a reality. Elisabeth moved to a small mountain community. A place rich in natural beauty but with fierce weather. A microclimate conducive to growing herbs and to destruction by natural forces. Becoming a gardener in this place is an uphill battle. The readers follow the early steps, - and failures, of the new gardener’s attempts to make things grow. Slowly she gets the hang of it and within a few years she opens the doors to a plant nursery.

In this process, we the readers, also learn a lot about plants. Did you know that lovage (Levisticum officinale) was used against snake bites and also a love-potion?

It is a story about life and people. We get to meet the aging mother who moved in when her mind started living a life of its own. Then there’s the intern, a cautious young woman who has experienced a little too much in her life and keeps a distance to other folks. Yet, the two become friends.

The year the Chernobyl nuclear plant spewed radioactivity over all of Europe was a dark one. Vegetables and herbs were left to rot on the fields. Livestock was put down.

The reader gets treated to trips into the mountains to pick lingonberries, cloud berries, and seeds from mountain arnica. Delicious recipes are scattered throughout the book. We learn to make alcohol infusion with St. John’s Wort, a fine taste and a ruby red color, sure to lift your spirits!

About the Translator

Bente Hoegsberg has Scandinavian roots and lives with her husband in Little Compton, RI.

Body, Word, and the Writing Muse: An Encounter in Nature

With Author Paula Sager

 Saturday August 2, 9:30am – 12:30pm 

in the Sculpture Garden, Tiverton Four Corners

Join author Paula Sager for a writing workshop immersed in nature. Paula will interweave simple embodied and contemplative practices as she guides participants into and through a writing process. 

Is there something you’re longing to write?

Is there something you’re already writing and you long to go deeper?

Do you have an intuitive sense that writing will support your longing to stay connected with an experience of losing a loved one?

 In her book The Watch: Time to Witness the Beauty of It All, nature is both inspiration and witness to Paula’s experience of accompanying her father through illness. Nature continued to be a supportive presence after her father’s death and through her writing of the book.

 Please bring a journal or notebook and your preferred writing utensils. Also, in relation to your longing to write, bring an object or photograph that has meaning for you. 

Details:

Date: Saturday, August 2nd

Session: 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM (3 hrs)

Location: We will start and end at The Yellow House, 3842 Main Road, Tiverton, RI - the workshop will take place outdoors in the Tiverton Four Corners Sculpture Garden.

Skill Level: Open to all skill levels / novice to advanced writers! We encourage everyone to read Paula’s book, The Watch, ahead of the event, copies are available for sale at The Yellow House.

Fee: $125/person, two spots are “pay what you are able”. Register soon as space is limited.

Email hello@theyellowhouseri.com to reserve your spot.

About the Instructor:

Paula Sager is a teacher of embodied and contemplative disciplines whose writing flows from the deep perspective she continues to develop through her own practices. She is the author of the recently released book, The Watch: Time to Witness the Beauty of It All. With a special focus on the Discipline of Authentic Movement, Paula is co-editor of the collected writings of Janet Adler—Intimacy in Emptiness: An Evolution of Embodied Consciousness  (Inner Traditions, 2022). She grew up in Toronto and now lives in Rhode Island.

Paula Sager takes the reader on a deep dive into the mysteries of memory and intuition, exploring what it means to be human and what it means to love one another. Beautiful written and deeply wise, this is a story we can all learn from.

- Elizabeth Shick, author of The Golden Land, winner of the AWP Prize for the Novel

Please join us for a reading, Q&A, and signing with local author Kathryn Ford as she presents her newly released book, “The Aperture Effect”.

• When: Saturday, July 26th @ 5:00 pm

• Space is limited. Seating can only be guaranteed with a paid book pre-order - email hello@theyellowhouseri.com to pre-order.

• Pre-order your copy by emailing hello@theyellowhouseri.com

The Aperture Effect:

Couples often ask, “Can people really change?” A better question is how do people change? In The Aperture Effect, psychiatrist and couples therapist Dr. Kathryn Ford doesn’t just tell you how—she gives you simple tools that will immediately begin to transform your conversations, your communication, and your relationship. With the radically simple approach of Aperture Awareness, Dr. Ford integrates mindfulness, Western psychology, and neuroscience to help couples shift their dynamics when in distress, turning their difficulties into lasting connection.

Filled with on-the-ground examples and effective exercises to nurture relationship growth, The Aperture Effect will show you how to:

• use small moments to make the changes you want now;

• reframe frustrating debates as open dialogues that create connection;

• bring out the best in your partner and yourself;

• and turn problems into opportunities to learn and love more fully.

Developed over more than two decades, Dr. Ford’s Aperture Awareness approach has helped hundreds of couples reverse the downward spiral of relationship crisis—and prepare for a lifetime of learning and loving together.

About the Author

Kathryn Ford, MD, has been one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most sought-after couples therapists for more than twenty years. Her work integrates her traditional training, meditation practice, and the latest neuroscientific research. Dr. Ford has served as a consultant and director for Tavistock Group Relations conferences, and she continues her work with organizations and corporations as a consultant with Upstart Logic. She has taught therapists and couples in a variety of settings, including Stanford Conti nuing Studies, Stanford School of Medicine, Santa Clara University, and the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology (now Sophia University). Dr. Ford is a regular contributor to Psychology Today, mindbodygreen, and other online publications. She splits her time between the Bay Area and Little Compton.

Habitats for Toads and Fairies

Would you like to escape for a few hours with a whimsical craft class this summer?

Perhaps you’d like to welcome the beneficial toad into your garden with a custom made home?

Or would you rather embrace your inner child and create a fairy house for your resident fairies?

 If so, you are invited to join us as we make homes for these wee creatures both real and imaginary. We welcome the experienced artist or novice crafter alike.

We will provide:

• Natural building materials foraged from our South Coast.

• Shared tools

• As much friendly help, guidance and inspiration that you might need to create .

We will also have some tools to share but please bring if you have them:

• Your sketchbook and pencil

• Garden nippers

• Crafting scissors

Any natural embellishments that you may want to add. Special shells, pebbles, or any interesting miniature accessories. We will be roughly working at doll house scale and smaller.

Note: Please wear crafting clothing or an apron because fairy construction can get messy. This class will be held outside if the weather permits so dress accordingly. Emergency indoor rain location nearby will be announced in case of bad weather.

Details:

Date: Sunday, July 20th

Session One: 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM (2.5 hrs)

Session Two: 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM (2.5 hrs)

Location: The Yellow House, 3842 Main Road, Tiverton, RI (in the back yard if weather permits)

Skill Level: Open to all skill levels / novice to advanced crafters!

Fee:

Adults (18+ up) are $100/person

Kids (8-17) are $60/spot when booked with a participating adult guardian ticket ($100). Fun for grandparents or parents + kids!

Email hello@theyellowhouseri.com to reserve your spot.

About the Instructor:

Georgina Melone of Studio Big Rock comes to us from a vibrant design career in the Toy and Entertainment world where she has spent her adulthood tinkering with beloved brands such as Playdoh, My Little Pony, Transformers, and so many more. Most recently, Gina has led the Futuring Team at Hasbro and served as the Global VP of Innovation and Design.

Gina has now entered her “Third Act”, where she is pioneering her role as the Chief Creative behind Studio Big Rock. This mischief-making includes inventing, lecturing and consulting with individuals and corporations.

Also, as a RISD grad, Gina has always enjoyed giving back by teaching and lecturing at RISD,URI, Pratt, Ringling School of Design among others.

So now, at Studio Big Rock she is passionate about sharing the joy of creating by inviting everyone to become makers through teaching meaningful craft experiences.

“At Studio Big Rock, we believe that everyone has the innate ability to create. Come and play with us and reconnect with your maker self.”