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McDonald’s has just announced a big change to the super popular Happy Meal and parents will be celebrating the new initiative.

In a bid to encourage the joy of reading, McDonald’s Australia has launched a permanent book option with every Happy Meal.

From February, every time you buy a Happy Meal, you (or your child) will be able to choose between a toy or a children’s book.

Exclusive Series For  the Happy Meal

Renowned author Cressida Cowell (of How To Train Your Dragon fame) has penned an exclusive series for the McDonald’s Happy Meal Readers program.

The first two books in the Treetop Twins Wilderness Adventures series are now available in restaurants nationwide.

Ten other books as part of this limited-edition series will be released during the year.

The new series will contain 12 books that follow the stories of the Treetop Twins as they explore the world and undertake new and exciting adventures.

mcdonalds happy meal book option

Would You Like A Book With That?

Books were first introduced to the Happy Meal in 2009 but were only available as part of special promotions during certain times of the year. This time, however, customers will now permanently have the option to choose a book as
part of their Happy Meal.

“We know how important choice is to our customers at Macca’s. We are very excited to be using our scale for good to help inspire a passion for reading through the expansion of our Happy Meal Readers program to offer a book option year round,” said Jo Feeney, Marketing Director at McDonald’s Australia.

Support

Each book features key reading tips from the Australian Federation of SPELD Associations (AUSPELD), which provides essential support to children and adults with learning difficulties across the country.

“We are proud of our partnership with McDonald’s, allowing us to together continue to spread creative and entertaining stories around Australia, while also encouraging a love for reading. We know that reading for fun assists in the development of important foundation skills in literacy and the role that parents can play in this is
significant. We hope that through this initiative, we can help adults share the gift of reading with children throughout the country,” said Mandy Nayton OAM, Chief Executive Officer of AUSPELD.

The first two books in the Treetop Twins Wilderness Adventures series are now available with the purchase of any Happy Meal at all McDonald’s restaurants across Australia.

Would your child choose a book or a toy in their Happy Meal? Tell us in the comments below.

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  • So much better than plastic toys.

    Reply

  • A toy, but I like the idea of books
    Pity though my lids ask for bigger meals

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  • Oh I love the idea of a book – it will last so much more longer.

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  • The toys were always lost or broken within minutes of purchase. I would be much happier for them to include a book in place of a toy.

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  • Yes! And sustainable too rather than the plastic toys

    Reply

  • We love books in our house, we read them many, many times.

    Reply

  • I think McDonald’s are onto a winner hear. I Love reading with my kids and believe it helps them so much and also is lovely bonding time between a child and carer. My youngest son Joel turn 2 next month and he has only once in his life (last Christmas Day treat) . I would consider buying him a happy meal with nuggets apple bad and water and the book will definitely be our choice as I can then read it to him. We buy our older children McDonald’s maybe 4 times a year max if their lucky. We don’t eat takeaway food as it’s much more filling and cheaper for our family. It’s far to expensive to eat takeaway. My got our kids 2 domins ???? for $10 a few weeks ago on a Friday night and that fed 2 adults and 2 pre teens and Joel has sweet potato mash with chicken and veggies (home cooked meal). I’ve found since cutting back on junk foods and takeaways my kids don’t even want it when offered, they much prefer home cooked meals.

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  • It’s better choice. Last week my son choose the book number 1 then we bought only the book number 2 for his bedtime reading.

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  • Great idea as my daughter doesn’t get the happy meal as she thinks the toys are for babies. So this is a good option for me

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  • Fantastic. And the next step should be to remove the toy as an alternative/option and just have books. Great idea.

    Reply

  • This is a great alternative instead of plastic toys


    • It is good to have alternatives.
      Toys can be good but books are so wonderful!

    Reply

  • We love books and the book option is appealing.

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  • This is awesome

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  • That’s awesome! Those toys are so crap! We don’t have happy meals often since my kids are only 4.5, 4.5 and 2. But on the occasion that we have, we have had the toy break before even leaving the store. And other times they are just so crappy that the kids don’t know what to do with it. Bring back the old school simple figurines. Kids love figurines.
    But I think the book initiative is great. We love story time each day.

    Reply

  • What a brilliant idea! Finally no more toys I throw out when the kids are at school!

    Reply

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