McDonald’s Happy Meal – with books!

When I heard that McDonald’s was going to give out books with their Happy Meal, in place of the usual plastic toy, I was so pleased.

We love books, and I was very impressed with the quality of the books that will be given out – Dorling Kindersley (“DK”) published books, no less!

Two books will be on offer every week, beginning 3 September 2015, and you can choose one with every Happy Meal purchased. The schedule of book titles is listed at the end of this post.

Although the books may look pint-sized, they are fantastic for children aged 1-9. They can be read to toddlers, since there are enough pictures to capture their attention.

The DK “Watch Me Grow” series on animals are great for those in preschool (aged 3-5), whilst the “WOW” series is especially suitable for upper kindy to lower primary kids (aged 6-9).

Here’s a glimpse of the “WOW! SPACE” book. Even I could learn something new from it. The “WOW” series comes with stickers too, that can be pasted on pages within, which is great for interactive learning. My kids still love stickers, so they were very happy to see so much packed into one little book.

The “Watch Me Grow” series has pages that can be flipped out, in addition to great pictures of animals, and interesting nuggets (pun intended) of information. Check out the “WOW! Human Body” book’s take below, on Cell Controls, which describes what can be found in a human cell.

I think this is simply McDonald’s best free gift ever, and a most enlightened initiative! A toy might entertain a child for a few minutes, but reading through one of these books will occupy them for much longer. Happy parent, happy child – borne out of a truly Happy Meal.

So in addition to being able to choose between healthy sides of a Corn Cup (3 oz), or Apple Slices, did you know that McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets are now fried with Canola Blend oil, thus reducing the level of saturated fat by about 30%? I’ve always liked the fact that a Happy Meal can come with a packet of Hi-Calcium Magnolia Milk too. Strong bones for all!

The girls loved the books! You can collect your own series too, with new books being launched at 11am every Thursday.  Here’s the schedule for easy reference:

Week 1: 3 Sep – 8 Sep

• Watch me grow! Panda
• WOW! Human Body

Week 2: 10 Sep – 16 Sep

• Watch me grow! Butterfly
• WOW! Art and Culture

Week 3: 17 Sep – 23 Sep

• Watch me grow! Elephant
• WOW! Ancient History

Week 4: 24 Sep – 30 Sep

• Watch me grow! Penguin
• WOW! Space

Special Art and Reading sessions!

In line with this new initiative, McDonald’s is also organising Art & Craft + Fun Reading sessions at the following restaurants, from 10am – 12noon on the following weekends:

• 12 Sep – McDonald’s West Coast Park
• 13 Sep – McDonald’s Jurong Central Park
• 19 Sep – McDonald’s Bishan Park
• 20 Sep – McDonald’s Ang Mo Kio Park
• 26 Sep – McDonald’s Kallang
• 27 Sep – McDonald’s Ridout Tea Garden

Note: We were given a set of the DK books shown above for the purpose of this review.