The acclaimed author of Miss Rumphius recounts the lives of four generations living on a New England coastal island and the importance of family ties. The youngest and quietest of 12 children, Matthias grew closest to Tibbets Island, learning its secrets through the years. And though in later years he sailed to faraway places, he…

When Alice Rumphius was a little girl, she vowed that when she grew up she would travel the world and live in a house by the sea. "There is a third thing you must do," her grandfather told her. "You must do something to make the world more beautiful." Miss Rumphius…