This sweet, beautifully illustrated tale of one exceptional seafaring grandmother and her life in the Pine Tree State follows "the Lobster Lady," Virginia Oliver, the oldest person lobstering in Maine. As the 102-year-old goes out on the boat for the day, she's given a chance to reflect on over 90 years of lobstering and how, in the many decades of her life, she's seen changes in her town, on the water, and in the trade. In a narrative told largely in short vignettes of flashbacks sure to resonate in places where traditional industries are a cultural touchstone, Virginia reflects on her pioneering life as the Lobster Lady to her family, friends, and the doctor stitching up a gash from a crab. While the illustrations are beautiful and soft, and the story is quiet and reflective, a child reader will likely need some adult assistance to grasp the context. For fans of picture-book biographies that are quiet, gentle reflections on a life lived boldly.

Maine librarian Hinrichs profiles 102-year-old Virginia Oliver, "the oldest person lobstering in Maine, and maybe even in the world!"The Lobster Lady rises before dawn, eats breakfast, and sets out with her adult son Max to her boat (named Virginia after her years ago). Out on the water they pull their traps, measure and sort the lobsters, and band the claws of the keepers. When Virginia sets aside a crab, it claws her, and the injury requires stitches. The doctor's tactless question-"What were you doing out there anyway?"-prompts a flow of memories: spending childhood summers on the Neck, an island where her father ran a store and blacksmith shop; returning the rest of the year to live with her aunts and grandparents on the mainland and attend school; learning to helm a boat; marrying a lobsterman; and doing various jobs but finally joining him on the water. The backmatter offers more information about the subject, changes in the industry and community, two simple recipes, and sources, including numerous admiring media accounts. This inspiring story is set on full-bleed images done with chalk pastel on roughened paper that convey a strong sense of the waterwoman's world, the boats, the sea, the sky. Even more than the matter-of-fact text, the saturated illustrations chronicle Oliver's long life and convey a rich sense of history. Most characters present White. (This book was reviewed digitally.)A cleverly told, engaging portrayal of an indomitable woman. (Informational picture book. 5-9)