Hurricane

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. Then he zooms in on the island’s inhabitants as news spreads: “It’s a Category 1 storm,” one child says to another. As the storm churns toward the island, reportorial text that follows the days of a week explains how forecasters observe satellite photos and measurements to predict the storm’s track and intensity, and how hurricane hunters fly right through the storm to investigate. (Smaller text blocks give more detail.) Meanwhile, the community prepares, an evacuation is ordered, and the islanders cooperate throughout: “My generator won’t start, can you take a look?” one queries into a phone; “Of course” is the response. When the storm hits, steady, minute-by-minute narration confers a sense of comforting predictability despite the chaos: “Branches snap. The power goes out.” After the storm, spreads show the island’s residents working together to tidy and repair, moments that aptly underline growing weather events as opportunities for community care. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Back matter includes a rich trove of resources. Ages 4–8. (May)