McDonald's USA To Celebrate Literacy Month with Popular Children's Books in Happy Meals

OAK BROOK, IL--(Marketwired - Aug 17, 2017) - In celebration of National Literacy Month in September, McDonald's USA (NYSE: MCD)  is inviting families to celebrate the joy of reading with the launch of the latest Happy Meal Books promotion. Happy Meal Books will return to restaurants nationwide from September 5-18 helping spread the gift of reading to families across the U.S.

In celebration of its 200^th anniversary, HarperCollins Publishers, one of the leading publishers of children's books, is joining forces with McDonald's USA to bring families a collection of four Happy Meal-sized books featuring popular titles -- "Pete the Cat's Got Class" by James Dean, "Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School" by Herman Parish, "Just A School Project" by Mercer Mayer and "If You Take a Mouse to School" by Laura Numeroff. Books are available in English and, in select restaurants, in Spanish.

McDonald's is also a proud supporter of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation's largest children's literacy organization, which seeks to promote literacy by creating needs-based content and scalable community solutions so every child can experience the life-changing power of literacy. By 2018, McDonald's will have donated approximately 400,000 books from the Happy Meal Books promotions to RIF literacy efforts and programs across the country.

"HarperCollins is pleased to be part of McDonald's Happy Meal Books promotion again this year to place beloved books in the hands of millions of children," says Suzanne Murphy, President and Publisher, HarperCollins Children's Books. "Reading has a profound impact on the educational development of a child and through this program along with our donation to Reading Is Fundamental, we hope to make book ownership for children more accessible." 

"McDonald's partnership with RIF is a celebration of the power and joy of families reading together," said Beth Meyer, Chief Marketing Officer of Reading Is Fundamental. "Six out of 10 low-income families still have no age-appropriate books in their homes, so providing children with books coupled with supplemental literacy resources they need to achieve their full potential has never been more important."

McDonald's Happy Meal Book promotion is among a list of the company's actions supporting a commitment to promote children's well-being by inspiring kids to engage in active and imaginative play in a fun way and help develop a sense of community. This announcement follows a number of changes McDonald's has made to its Happy Meal, including: