Teaching young readers how to prepare for a natural disaster is the aim of Hurricane (Holiday House), the latest STEM-focused picture book by Caldecott Medalist Chin, which salutes the scientists who track devastating storms.

What prompted you to create Hurricane? And why was this the right time to bring this story to life?

My editor Neal Porter suggested I write about hurricanes, so I did some preliminary research and got hooked. The U.S. has experienced a decade or more of extremely destructive hurricanes. At the same time, there has been massive population growth in hurricane-prone coastlines. This means that a lot more kids are experiencing hurricanes directly than ever before. I hope that this book can help them understand the phenomenon.

Unfortunately, its release was timely in a way I wasn’t expecting. As Hurricane hit shelves in May 2025, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists and meteorologists who inspired me and are featured prominently in the book as heroes were targeted for elimination by the current administration.

What type of homework did you do for the book, and what was the most interesting thing you discovered?

When I do research, I read a lot about the subject, but I also like to speak with experts; it’s one of the most interesting and exciting
parts of the process. For this book, I had the privilege of speaking with Shirley Murillo, the deputy director of NOAA’s hurricane research division and a former hurricane hunter. These heroic scientists and pilots fly into hurricanes to collect weather data, because they know it will save lives by improving forecasts. I loved learning about the innovative technology they’ve pioneered and how the team works together to complete the mission.

Since becoming both author and illustrator, how has your creative process evolved?

I decided to use speech bubbles to communicate the character of the Hatteras, N.C., community. I envisioned those bubbles having an outline, which led me to use pen and ink and ultimately, I did all the art in that medium. This was the first time I used it for an entire book, and there was a steep learning curve.

Another lesson I learned from this book was the pros and cons of using computers. Over time, I’ve become more adept at laying things out digitally, which helps with a complicated book like Hurricane. But partway through—when I was feeling stuck—I happened to see a book dummy made by [author-illustrator] Melissa Sweet, full of words and sketches cut and pasted together. I decided to try that approach and it helped me organize my ideas, see new possibilities, and ultimately solve the problem I was dealing with.

What do you hope will be students’ and teachers’ main takeaway from Hurricane?

The vital idea for this book is the importance of community and cooperation in the face of danger. But no community can deal with hurricanes alone; it takes cooperation on a larger scale, from emergency managers at the county level, to state governments, to states and countries helping each other. In addition to readers seeing how neighbors help each other in Hatteras, I hope they recognize how many people work together tirelessly to protect us when hurricanes threaten.

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