Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Kids: Books in Happy Meals Create Innovative Outreach to Literacy
By, Grace Nall

 
McDonald’s USA and HarperCollins Children’s Books added a whole new meaning to the word, happy, in Happy Meals. Kids can enjoy the love of reading with their favorite Happy Meal. Instead of a plastic toy, the surprise comes in a classic book! The miniature paperback book fits snuggly inside the Happy Meal box.

Four books are featured with a Valentine Theme until February 15, 2016.  They are the following: James Dean’s “Pete the Cat: Valentine’s Day is Cool,” Michael Bond’s “Paddington,” Bruce Hale’s “Clark the Shark Takes Heart,” and Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond’s “Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse!”. All the books come with Valentine stickers and cards. A bonus surprise for kids is the scan feature in the books to lead them to a Happy Meal website with interactive tech activities. Parents and kids can visit www.hc.com/mcdonalds for more videos and fun activities.

It’s a win-win situation for all. “I particularly like that these books will reach kids who never go into libraries and may not even have books at home,” said Children’s Book Author Bruce Hale. Visit Bruce Hale’s website at http://brucehale.com/.

McDonald’s has also partnered with Reading is Fundamental, a non-profit children’s literacy organization. Since the literacy campaign began in 2013, more than 17 million books have been distributed to kids nationwide.