Children's bookshops are bucking a UK-wide decline, according to a new report by the Booksellers Association (BA).
The report said no children's bookshops closed in 2011, a year which saw a steady drop in the number of independent shops, with 73 closing their doors for good.
The report added 36 new stores opened in the second half of the year.
The report comes at the beginning of Independent Booksellers Week - which runs from 30 June until 7 July.
Quoting a Books & Consumer report, the BA said children's book purchases rose slightly in 2011 by both volume and value, driven by purchase of physical non-fiction titles.
During the period from July to December last year, 40 children's bookshops continued trading.
According to the BA's UK figures, by December 2011, it had 1,094 independent members - with the total membership coming in at 3,655.
In October, the BA revealed its membership had fallen by 20% since 2006.
Booksellers Association chief executive Tim Godfray said: "Though it was gratifying to see an increase in openings in the latter part of last year, and children's bookshops really holding their own, the competition from the internet and the arrival of e-books are putting pressures on high street and campus bookshops."
About 300 shops are taking part in Independent Booksellers Week, now in its sixth year.
Taking a leaf out of the book of Record Store Day - which celebrates independent record shops - a range of limited edition "collectable" titles will be available from independent shops.
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