I have been told again and again to read a lot of picture books. I wondered how many is a lot. Thankfully Laura Backes was clear on that. Read 100 books.

Several people told me to read recent picture books. How recent is recent? Some said this year, others two years, and the longest relevant time was three years. 2020 is only 2 months old. So I figure 2019 and 2020 count as this year.

How do you find the 100 picture books you should read?

Besides reading the books, keep a list. You won’t remember all the books you read. (Unless you are a memory savant, in which case I am jealous.)

I am telling you to do this, because I have not done this. Should I go backwards and write down the books I have read recently? Or should I go forward and concentrate on 100 books in a recent time frame?

I am going to go forward and concentrate on books in a recent time frame. That doesn’t mean I won’t read older books. I might. I will list them. But I intend to concentrate on the most recent books I can find because those are the ones that are closer to my book’s publishing date (whenever I have a book accepted).

I am ALSO going to keep a list. This statement is my accountability sheet. Hold me to it.