Hurricane - by Jason Chin (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The community of Hatteras Island, North Carolina, prepares to weather a category three hurricane, aided by cutting-edge science"--

Book Synopsis

Caldecott and Sibert Medalist Jason Chin charts the thrilling saga of an island community's brush with a category three hurricane, and the cutting-edge science that helps them prepare.

It's a beautiful day on Hatteras Island, North Carolina. But while all seems calm now, a hurricane is barreling across the Atlantic, and everyone is wondering when it will hit the U.S. coast. And where.

Night and day, meteorologists use satellites to monitor the storm. Brave pilots fly directly into the tempest, dodging lightning bolts to gather crucial data. Back on the island, families board up windows, drag furniture upstairs, and stock survival kits to prepare for what may come.

From its dramatic opening, Hurricane alternates between striking maps charting the hurricane's progress and daily life on the island.

Hurricane is at once a fascinating view into a natural disaster and a reassuring survey of the tools we use to mitigate the damage. As climate change makes hurricanes ever more destructive, this engaging and rigorous book is perfect for classrooms, and for families making their own safety plans.

Jason Chin, winner of the Caldecott Medal for Watercress (written by Andrea Wang) and the Sibert Medal for Life After Whale (written by Lynn Brunelle) combines breathtaking artwork and clear, compelling text to make Hurricane a gripping read for all ages. At the end, find even more information about hurricanes, with visual aids for deeper understanding.

Review Quotes

Caldecott Medalist Chin braids together three stories: how hurricanes form, how scientists track their potential impact, and how the people of Cape Hatteras, a barrier island off the North Carolina coast, prepare for landfall. . . Deeply empathetic, brilliantly illustrated, and chock-full of information.
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

In impeccably crisp signature-style illustrations, Caldecott Medalist Chin opens this picture book with a series of sweeping, high-altitude images of a whirling hurricane forming over the Atlantic and heading for North Carolina's Hattaras Island.
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

In Hurricane, Caldecott and Sibert Medalist Jason Chin (Watercress; Life After Whale) delivers another sensational work of creative nonfiction that features precise details and exacting illustrations. . . .Hurricane is a top-notch addition to the strong body of hurricane picture books for children.
--Shelf Awareness (starred review)

In a thorough, thoughtful overview aimed at younger audiences, Chin gives a topic of growing concern as hurricanes increase in number and intensity.
--Booklist

Both the text and the illustrations balance the necessarily clinical approach of the scientists with the real human cost of the storm. . . . The delicate art is surprisingly effective in conveying the enormity of the situation, with layered watercolors in aqua and stark white dominating aerial spreads and thin, detailed linework tracing downed trees, worried humans, and of course, the cat.
--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

With such an abundance of information--always presented in an easily digestible way--the book is ripe for repeat readings. . . . Chin maintains a factual tone throughout, whetting readers' appetites for knowledge without stoking fears. . . .Offers an invaluable reference for all, including informed young beachgoers, weather watchers and budding scientists.
--BookPage

About the Author

Jason Chin is a celebrated author and illustrator of children's books. He is a winner of the Caldecott Medal for his illustrations in Andrea Wang's Watercress, a Newbery Honor book and APALA award winner; and with author Lynn Brunelle, the Sibert Medal, for Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall. His book Grand Canyon was awarded a Caldecott Honor, a Sibert Honor, and the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award. His other acclaimed nonfiction titles, including Coral Reefs, Redwoods, Gravity, Island: A Story of the Galapagos, Your Place in the Universe, and The Universe in You, have received numerous starred reviews and other accolades. He lives in Vermont with his wife and children.