Maine author pens children’s book about ‘The Lobster Lady’

OLD TOWN, Maine (WABI) - Alexandra Hinrichs has always had a love of books.

It’s been a longstanding dream of Hinrichs, who is a middle school librarian by day, to become a children’s author.

Ten years ago, she moved to Maine and published her first children’s book.

Over the years, Hinrichs says she’s fallen in love with Maine’s landscape and that’s where she finds plenty of inspiration.

“Just the ability to go outside and see so much beauty all the time, there’s just so much wonder on a day-to-day basis in that way and in nature,” she said.

In July 2021, a news story about Maine’s own Virginia Oliver caught her eye.

Oliver has been harvesting lobsters for decades, and at 102, the Rockland native is showing no signs of slowing down.

“She’s bemused by her own fame,” said Hinrichs. “She told me, “Well maybe when you become 100, you can be famous too.”

It was not long after seeing that story that Hinrichs was then chatting with Oliver about her life and experience as a lobsterwoman.

“I had no idea how big her story would become when I first called her and it’s just been such a treat to get to know her, and in getting to know her, feeling like I get to know Maine a little more too,” she explained.

Oliver’s stories inspired Hinrich’s newest children’s book, appropriately titled “The Lobster Lady.”

“She’s quite the storyteller. She has the most infectious laugh. I already thought this would be a great picture book and then when she talked about her childhood on the neck of Andrews Island, it just all came together in my mind pretty quickly,” said Hinrichs.

“The Lobster Lady” and her book, “I Am Made of Mountains”, released earlier this month, are available for purchase.

“I Am Made of Mountains” is my first rhyming book. It’s an ode to national parks and a celebration of the diversity of landscape and people in the U.S,” she said.

These last few months have been hectic for the mom of three, but she says she is ready for a bit of a break.

She will finish the school year at Leonard Middle School in Old Town next month before taking a leave of absence to focus on her family and her writing career.

“I have a lot of love for this little room and this little library and the school and community, and I hope to be back, but I already may have snuck into the staff bathroom to have a good cry one day because it’s a little emotional sometimes,” she said. “With my family and school in particular, I am so grateful for the support along the way. It is a dream come true for me.”

Hinrichs does have a new book coming out in September called “The Pocket Book.”

It’s a simple ode to the treasures we find and keep in our pockets and the memories they hold.

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