McDonald's Is Giving Away Books Instead Of Toys In Their Happy Meals

McDonald's is trying to encourage kids to read with the fast-food company's newest promotion: a book giveaway. The two-week campaign, which puts books in Happy Meals instead of the typical toy cars and dolls, began January 9 and will end January 22. During these two weeks, McDonald's expects to give away 17 million copies of the four available books in collaboration with nonprofit organization Reading is Fundamental and HarperCollins: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond; Big Nate: In a Class by Himself by Lincoln Peirce; Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses by Kimberly and James Dean; and Flat Stanley Goes Camping by Jeff Brown, illustrated by Macky Pamintuan.

This isn't the first time that McDonald's ventured into the world of reading. In 2013, a similar promotion distributed 20 million kids' books to its littlest customers. This year, the books were all selected with McDonald's consumers in mind.

"This is the latest step in our ongoing efforts to enrich the lives of families, and part of a broader book strategy to combine the fun of the Happy Meal and support of our partners to inspire more family reading time," said Julie Wenger, senior director of U.S. marketing at McDonald's.