The Most Natural Thing Inside A Happy Meal Will Now Be A Book
McDonald’s might not provide kids with the most nutritious meal options, but at least they’re going to help them be literate. Whenever kids look inside their little box of Happy Meal goodies, they will now find a journey-filled children’s book inside.
It’s no secret that we’re terrible readers here in the US, which is backed by the fact that nearly 65 percent of 4th graders read below the basic level, so it looks like McDonald’s is flexing its muscle to try and do something about our nation’s literacy problem.
By teaming with the Reading Is Fundamental organization, McDonald’s will try to give out over 50 million books by the end of 2016.
By the end of 2016, we’ll have distributed 50 mil Happy Meal Books to kids since 2013! https://t.co/Aij1ykvDBp ❤️📚 pic.twitter.com/qNHJoCGl82
— McDonald’s (@McDonalds) February 2, 2016
The first batch of books provided inside the Happy Meals will be “Paddington”, “Clark the Shark Takes Heart”, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse!” and “Pete the Cat: Valentine’s Day Is Cool.”
The Golden Arches flirted with the Happy Meal book giving back in 2013, as it replaced the traditional toy prize with stories about healthier eating. Now they’re giving it another whirl, hoping those test scores will go up.
This could work against McDonald’s, however, because if kids start learning how to read, they just might stumble upon a nutrition book and never eat McDonald’s again.
You win some, you lose some.
