I was at a friend’s house for supper last night with a whole group of people I’d never met before. When it came to what I did the usual tedious comments followed. They go along the lines of (in no particular order),

“Do you know so-and-so? She works for (names publisher I’ve never heard of).”

“A friend of mine (names author I’ve never heard of) writes children’s books. Do you know him?”

“I’ve got a great idea for a children’s book. It’s about blah blah blah blah…”

“What do you think of ebooks? It’ll mean the death of the book blah blah blah…”

When it came to the last original (not!) conversation starter I was relieved to be able to share the news of an unusual experiment by US short story collective Electric Literature. ‘Of all the big books that came out in 2010 which would be most likely to protect you in the event of a shooting?’ demanded EL spokesman, comedian Tom Shillue.

Various big books went up before Electric Literature’s firing squad including a Kindle. My ‘death of the book’ dinner companion was pleased to hear that Joshua Cohen’s 800 page Witz – and not the Kindle – was the least mangled, proving, beyond doubt, that ‘real’ books still have a place in the world!

The fact is, however, that this is the year in which going digital may just be the saviour of children’s books. Apple’s latest version of its iBooks app, which allows e-books to have a pictorial layout similar to printed books and supports full page illustrations, has been hailed by one publisher as being “the beginning of a phenomenally exciting phase in picture book publishing”.

The new version of the online store means all publishers signed up to Apple’s terms on the iBookstore, including HarperCollins, Hachette, Penguin, Pan Macmillan, Canongate and Simon & Schuster, will be able to release fully illustrated e-books.

HarperCollins Publishing Director, Helen Mackenzie Smith, said: ””These e-books stay faithful to the reading experience of the physical books we know and love, whilst showcasing the exquisite illustrations in a way unique to new reading devices”.

Tell me about it! My husband – a middle-aged lawyer – spent most of this evening being completely enchanted by Nosy Crow’s picture book app ‘Three Little Pigs’.

However let’s not forget that e-devices remain relatively expensive and children still need access to traditional books. Which is why it is such a tragedy to see our libraries coming under fire due to government cuts. There is an item on our news page about the situation and Michael Rosen’s involvement. If anyone else out there is interested in fighting to save our libraries please join the Bookseller’s Fight for Libraries campaign on Facebook. Or follow the campaign on Twitter @fight4libraries. Many thanks.