The Big Empty:

A Sagebrush Survival Story

  • Reading age: ‎ 5 - 10 years

  • Interest Level: Kindergarden - Grade 4

  • Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group Imprint: Millbrook Press (October 7, 2025)

  • Junior Library Guild Selection

In spare, poetic text written from the point of view of big sagebrush, readers are transported to the vast landscape of western North America. This incredibly resilient plant, which can live as long as one hundred years, provides food and shelter as well as shadows to conceal both predators and prey. After a wildfire passes through, it grows again and will thrive once more. Author and illustrator Kirbi Fagan captures the beauty of this essential plant in her lyrical words and richly detailed illustrations.

ReSOurces & INTERVIEWS LINKS

Download Free Teaching Guide on Lerner’s Website

School LIbrary Journal Best Non-fiction Elementry Books 2025

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12 Books Published in 2025

For Teachers:

The Big Empty is hopeful story to read to classrooms. Pair The Big Empty with lessons and topics like:

  • Ecosystems

  • Survival stories

  • Habitats

  • Life Cycle

  • Sustainability

  • Biodiversity

  • Pollution

  • Conservation

  • North American Grasslands

Publishers Weekly

“Poetic lines establish the barren quality of the environment, but just as the hardy plant calls this place “home,” so too does it represent a dwelling place for the many critters who rely upon the flora for shelter, nourishment, and cover. . . Featuring pastel, colored pencil, collage paper, and digital techniques, Fagan’s moody, dusky-hued illustrations showcase species (identified in back matter) interacting with the plant’s densely twisted limbs."—Publishers Weekly

Booklist

“Attractive fare for young fans of natural history.”—Booklist

Starred Review School Library Journal

Reviewed on 8 August 2025

“With its lilting text and gorgeous artwork, this is the rare book that amplifies the ferocity and the necessity of fire in nature, employing the ecology of the sagebrush.”—starred, School Library Journal

Kirkus

“A dramatic depiction of an unusual ecosystem.”