McDonald’s, the UK’s largest provider of free books to children, is continuing its commitment to children’s literacy this year, by giving families and communities across the UK and Ireland access to more free books than ever. This marks the fourth year that McDonald’s has partnered with World Book Day, and the tenth anniversary of the Happy Readers scheme, which has seen 110m books given away in the UK.
On World Book Day (3rd March), McDonald’s is giving away free books in restaurants across the UK, and this year three is the magic number - with up to three free books up for grabs! Families can choose between Mr Silly: My Book About Me (Mr Men. Little Miss), or There’s A Wolf In My Book by Tom Fletcher as well as receiving a free book with every Happy Meal thanks to the existing Book or Toy promotion - meaning families can walk out of restaurants with two books in hand to explore straight away.
Plus, there will be a £1 token on every Happy Meal box (from 2nd to 15th March), to help children continue their reading journey beyond World Book Day. And, it sounds like parents are ready for a new story to explore. Recent research shows that 82%* of parents reading stories to their children regularly – about four times a week.
Luckily, there are some easy ways to keep story time fun and engaging for everyone, particularly making up voices for the different characters. Putting on voices, dressing up, or acting out scenes from the book makes nearly two thirds (63%) of parents feel more confident during story time, but what about the third (34%) who feel embarrassed putting on voices?
McDonald’s has partnered with actor, presenter, and celebrity dad Joe Swash to bring some top tips to story time and put parents at ease. He said, “Story time is what I look forward to most with my kids each day – in a busy world it’s a moment just for us where we can explore and adventure as a family.
This World Book Day, thanks to McDonald’s, you’ve got the chance to get your hands on up to three different books, so I want to make sure you’re prepped and ready to be the best story tellers you can be!” With 61% of parents believing that their child’s favourite part of story time is the funny voices, it’s important to feel comfortable.
The top three parent-chosen ways to get into character and remove any embarrassment during story time are:
1. Dimming the lights to create an atmosphere – 28%
2. Embellishing or tweaking the story – or even going off script! – 26%
3. Using sound effects – 26%
And the top voices requested by kids? General silly noises come top of the list (21%) closely followed by animals (15%) and monsters (14%).
“As an actor, I’m used to getting into character, but even I make sure I do some warm-ups to get the old vocal cords ready and clear of any nervous energy!” says Joe, “But remember, nerves aside, your kids are just excited to be reading with you and enjoying story time, so make sure you head to McDonald’s for the chance to pick up three new books to explore together.”
Chloe Bissell, Head of Marketing – Family, Brand & Affinity said: “Story time is such a familiar and integral part of growing up - for many of us, our memories of being read to by loved ones are likely to be among our most treasured. It’s a wonderful way to introduce children to the magical world of literature – and create new memories which will live with them forever. We are so proud to partner with the National Literacy Trust and World Book Day to ensure more families than ever before can share a story together.”
On World Book Day, McDonald’s is giving away copies of Mr Silly: My Book About Me (Mr Men. Little Miss), or There’s A Wolf In My Book by Tom Fletcher. What’s more, a whopping 5.3 million Happy Meal boxes will feature the £1 World Book Day token.
Reading for pleasure is the biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income - however, it is in decline and at its lowest level since 2005. McDonald’s is on a mission to change this and help bring books to children who need them the most.