Definitely Lovin’ It: McDonald’s UK to Give Away Books Instead of Toys for Its Happy Meals

Here’s a confession: It’s always been a naïve belief of mine that my future children will learn how to read before they ever watch television. Granted, I also hope to make a living as a writer (ha), but thanks to McDonald’s new pro-literacy Happy Meal campaign, all I need to do is to move to England and I’m almost halfway there.

In partnership with the National Literacy Trust, the fast food giant plans on handing out at least 15 million fiction and non-fiction books to families in the UK by the end of 2014, in order to improve children’s literacy through ownership of books.

“When children own their own books, it makes a huge difference to their reading,” Conal Presho, head of development at the National Literacy Trust, said. “This is a real opportunity to spark conversations, and is really positive. McDonald’s is a company with huge reach across the UK.”

According to McDonald’s vice president, feedback about the campaign so far has been “overwhelmingly positive” from parents, though there has been little word about children’s reactions to this bait and switch. Goodness knows I would have probably thrown a fit. What is this BS? Where’s my Hello Kitty watch?

Trust me dahlings, it’s for your own good.

H/T Guardian + PicThx Marketwire