The Big Empty: A Sagebrush Survival Story

by Kirbi Fagan, Kirbi Fagan (Illustrator)

Overview

People passing by call this land the big empty. / But I call it home.

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798765682500
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/07/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Age Range:	7 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kirbi Fagan is a Michigan New York Best Selling illustrator. Her work includes the picture book The Summer of the Tree Army by Gloria Whelan (2021), We Are the Scrappy Ones (2025), as well as cover art in adult, YA, middle-grade, and comic books. Kirbi is driven to create books for readers like her. When she was growing up, arts and crafts were her lifeline as a way to cope with ongoing illness. Kirbi is traditionally trained as an oil painter, earning her bachelor's degree in Illustration from Kendall College of Art and Design.