Here's an idea to warm the hearts of paper-and-ink lovers everywhere, even as Barnes & Noble goes on the auction block: children may be keeping old-fashioned books alive.

In a blog post for British newspaper The Independent, Alan Cleaver writes that both he and publishing company owner Toni Carver have noticed the same thing: "if you want a really colourful, exciting and magical book, look on the children’s shelves of your local bookshop. 'For children too young to be techy' writes Toni 'the print medium remains perfect'." More than books of any other genre, children's books exemplify the beauty and value of the printed medium. "Novels and reference books for adults are dull as ditchwater," admits Cleaver, "but any kids' book has pop-ups, secret compartments and colour pictures on every page." Just as book-lovers might wish, such innovations show how the medium of "the book itself can be as exciting as the contents inside."

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Heather Horn