(written by me, illustrated by Shanda McCloskey, and published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Author Tara Lazar knows tons about picture books, so it’s a pretty safe bet that I’ll learn something from her blog posts about writing them — even (or especially) when she uses one of my own books as an example.

Have a look at what Tara says about breaking “The Rule of Threes,” why it’s a good idea to do so, and how my newest book, Fire Truck vs. Dragon, goes about it.

(She begins, “A follow-up to Barton’s popular SHARK vs. TRAIN of 10 years ago (wow, time flies!), this new “battle” features a stand off between the reader and the characters.”)

While you’re doing that, I’ll be adding a few picture books to my to-read list. Even those I’ve already read, I know I’ll benefit from giving another look now that I’m equipped with Tara’s insights.