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Get Your Family Reading Together with Happy Meal Books from McDonald’s!

  Purchase a McDonald’s Happy Meal to receive one of these limited edition HarperCollins children’s books just in time for some Valentine’s Day family fun! #HappyMealBooks        

Keira loves reading time.  I can get her to do just about anything by bribing her with a book. She also happens to love cheeseburger Happy Meals from McDonald’s, or as she calls it, “the fries house”. Kids across the country just like her are going to be thrilled that McDonald’s Canada has brought back Happy Meal Books just in time for Valentine’s Day.  Awesome!

That’s right!  Until February 15th, 2016, McDonald’s Canada, in partnership with HarperCollins, is giving millions of children nationwide access to books by replacing Happy Meal toys with four classic, Happy Meal-sized books!

The books are Valentine’s Day themed and also include removable Valentine’s cards inside.  The books available with a purchase of a Happy Meal combo include:

 

Purchase a McDonald’s Happy Meal to receive one of these limited edition HarperCollins children’s books just in time for some Valentine’s Day family fun! #HappyMealBooks

Pete the Cat: Valentine’s Day is Cool by Kimberly Dean

Purchase a McDonald’s Happy Meal to receive one of these limited edition HarperCollins children’s books just in time for some Valentine’s Day family fun! #HappyMealBooks
Paddington by Michael Bond

Purchase a McDonald’s Happy Meal to receive one of these limited edition HarperCollins children’s books just in time for some Valentine’s Day family fun! #HappyMealBooks
Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse! By Laura Numeroff

Purchase a McDonald’s Happy Meal to receive one of these limited edition HarperCollins children’s books just in time for some Valentine’s Day family fun! #HappyMealBooks
Clark the Shark Takes Heart by Bruce Halev

 

What I love about the Happy Meal Books is that the girls are so excited to read them.  They are full versions of the story, but in a smaller sized format than the original books, which means they are really great quality and will be read over and over.  I also love that the Happy Meal Books really encourages family time by providing some wonderful books for families to read together. What a truly valuable gift!

 

Purchase a McDonald’s Happy Meal to receive one of these limited edition HarperCollins children’s books just in time for some Valentine’s Day family fun! #HappyMealBooks

The fun with the Happy Meal Books continues at home through the McPlay App.  Families can scan the back of the books to unlock a children’s interactive activity in two easy steps:

Step One: Download the McPlay App (Free Happy Meal App)

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/mcplay/id634672279?mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.happymeal.mcplay&hl=en

Step Two: Scan the Happy Meal Book logo on the back to unlock games that you can’t get anywhere else. 

Families can also open an activity sheet available at http://www.happymeal.com/#Create and continue the fun!

 

Meet Ronald!

In honour of Valentine’s Day, McDonald’s is hosting book-reading events across Canada with characters like Ronald for families.  We were able to attend the event in Hamilton yesterday at the McDonald’s location on Rymal Rd East. 

Purchase a McDonald’s Happy Meal to receive one of these limited edition HarperCollins children’s books just in time for some Valentine’s Day family fun! #HappyMealBooks

There were fun crafts and activities going on in the party room for kids aged 3-8, but you could feel the excitement for Ronald and Pete the Cat’s visit!  It was the perfect chance to pick up a couple of the limited edition Happy Meal Books for the girls along with one of their favourite treats.

Purchase a McDonald’s Happy Meal to receive one of these limited edition HarperCollins children’s books just in time for some Valentine’s Day family fun! #HappyMealBooks

Cheeseburger Happy Meals!

The restaurant was pretty busy, but the staff happily helped us find seats for the kids so they could sit and eat.  We inadvertently ended up with the best seats in “the house” for the visit with Ronald and Pete!

 

Purchase a McDonald’s Happy Meal to receive one of these limited edition HarperCollins children’s books just in time for some Valentine’s Day family fun! #HappyMealBooks

Pete the Cat showed up at the restaurant first and provided the opportunity for kids to give him a hug and parents to snap a few photos. 

Purchase a McDonald’s Happy Meal to receive one of these limited edition HarperCollins children’s books just in time for some Valentine’s Day family fun! #HappyMealBooks

While some kids were a bit shy of Pete, Keira was thrilled to meet him and gave him a great big hug. 

 

Purchase a McDonald’s Happy Meal to receive one of these limited edition HarperCollins children’s books just in time for some Valentine’s Day family fun! #HappyMealBooks

Not long after, the star of the show arrived – Ronald!  It took him awhile to arrive in the party room as many in the restaurant seemed eager to say hello and snap a photo.  Once in the room though, many kids could hardly contain themselves, they were so excited to meet Ronald, and he was perfect!

Ronald read to us Pete the Cat: Valentine’s Day is Cool by Kimberly Dean and he had everyone’s attention – from the youngest child to the adults.  It was a pretty magical event that made me feel I was a kid again.

 

Purchase a McDonald’s Happy Meal to receive one of these limited edition HarperCollins children’s books just in time for some Valentine’s Day family fun! #HappyMealBooks

Ronald was happy to give all the children a chance to have their photo taken with him. Talk about patient!

There are a few more events scheduled across Canada, and if you are able to, I would definitely recommend taking your family for Happy Meals and to meet Ronald. Keira, who is 4, has done nothing but talk about meeting Ronald and Pete ever since the event.  We even had to call Grandma so she could tell her all about it!  If you are able to make it to one of the events be sure to join the online conversation using #HappyMealBooks.

Character Event Schedule:

2330 Ottawa St., Port Coquitlam , BC on Feb. 13 with Ronald at 4:30 p.m.

7005-120th St., Delta, BC on Feb. 14 with Ronald at 12 p.m.

590 Martin Street, Milton, ON on Feb. 14 with Ronald at 1 p.m.

 

I’d love to hear what you think of the books, let me know!

 

Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by McDonald’s Canada, however all opinions are honest and my own.

 

kathy downey

Thursday 3rd of November 2016

I wish they had these books at all locations

Janell @ Saving You Dinero

Saturday 13th of February 2016

My daughter is in Kindergarten and they read Pete the Cat books and she is so excited about this prize in her Happy Meal!

Lisa Rios

Thursday 11th of February 2016

The Kids are looking so cute & all the pictures you have shared here are so beautiful as well. I love these books collection as well for my kids as it would motivate them to read more & get better knowledge as well.

Mama to 5 BLessings

Thursday 11th of February 2016

What a cute selection of books. My son just got Clark the Shark in his Happy Meal the other day.

Ann Bacciaglia

Thursday 11th of February 2016

It is so important to get kids into reading. I like that McDonald's is including books with a happy meal. My kids used to love Paddington Bear stories.