[Ammi]

McDonald's is set to replace the toys which come with its famous Happy Meals with educational books as part of an effort to boost child literacy.

The fast food giant will become the UK's largest children's book distributor after announcing plans to give away more than 15million books over the next two years.

The company is teaming up with Dorling Kindersley and WH Smith for the promotion, which started this week

McDonald's, which is frequently accused of helping to perpetuate childhood obesity, will be hoping to banish its image with the 'Happy Readers' initiative.

The firm's Happy Meals, which use bright colours and playful characters to sell burgers, chips and chicken nuggets, have been banned in Chile and some U.S. states over claims they are damaging children's health

The reading campaign launched this week with a five-week nationwide giveaway, and will continue until the end of next year, by which time a total of 15million fiction and non-fiction books will have been given out.

The first set of books offered are short non-fiction works by DK, which is known for its lavishly illustrated picture books

One book will be included with each children's Happy Meal, which traditionally include plastic toys promoting films and TV shows.

McDonald's will also give away additional vouchers for the books which can be redeemed at WH Smith.

And the DK books will be available to buy in McDonald's as stand-alone purchases too.

The books available are from the publisher's 'Amazing World' series, entitled Oceans; Earth; Stars and Planets; Big Cats; Arctic and Antarctic; and Rainforest

The giveaway was apparently inspired by research from the National Literary Trust which revealed that just 50 per cent of children say they enjoy reading a lot.

'Our research tells us that there is a very clear link between book ownership and children’s future success in life, so it is very concerning that one in three children in the UK doesn't own a book, and half of kids don't really enjoy reading,' an NLT spokesman told the Daily Telegraph.

'Initiatives like McDonald's Happy Readers campaign play an important role in getting more books into the hands of children, and inspiring families to read together as a fun and interactive pastime.'

The firm launched a pilot scheme last year, and claims that 90 per cent of parents said they wanted to see more such giveaways


..although I am definately a 'book person', I'm not sure how I feel about this...happy meals were part of my own children's childhood and the toy was a big part of that...it also seems pointless to think about broadening the mind when the product sold is 'junk food'...I think that it's more to do with balance and making sure that children eat the healthy food as well and not just the rubbish...

..In moderation though, I think a little 'junk' food is ok...it's also ok to have a toy and not always educational stuff..

..It didn't seem 'broke' to me, so why 'fix' it...what do you think...?....