MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Making way for families to have more fun bonding moments together, McDonald’s is launching the Happy Meal Readers program that offers a book or toy option for every Happy Meal purchase. The program’s goal is to create more opportunities for memorable experiences shared over storytelling, and this year, families can journey through space and time, and dive right in the Treetop Twins Wilderness Adventures through a series of McDonald’s-exclusive Happy Meal Readers books written by world-renowned author Cressida Cowell.
“McDonald’s Happy Meal Readers’ book option is a great take-home treat – a perfect surprise for kids to cap off the night with a family bonding bedtime storytelling session. The Happy Meal Readers program is part of McDonald’s commitment in bringing to life feel-good family moments, by encouraging book-reading as both a fun and educational family activity,” explains Margot B. Torres, the Managing Director of McDonald’s Philippines.
The McDonald’s Happy Meal Readers book options will be available year-round, starting February 21, 2020, and kids can look forward to collecting a total of 12 hard bound books lined up for release this year.
Meet incredible animals year-round with the Treetop Twins
Families can look forward to an exciting wilderness adventures with the Treetop Twins, a book series written exclusively for McDonald’s by Criselda Cromwell, world-renowned author and illustrator of the much-loved series “How to Train Your Dragon”, whose books have captured the imagination of children all over the world.
Each book tells of the adventures of the Treetop Twins and their parents as they travel in their time machine to meet fascinating creatures, including endangered and extinct animals from the past, such as Polar Bears, Quaggas, Pink Dolphins, and Woolly Mammoths! The series is full of adventures, amazing creatures, and fun facts that kids and their parents would discover together.
The Agoncillos officially join the McDonald’s family!
Celebrity couple Ryan and Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo, together with their daughter Luna Agoncillo, are happy to join the McDonald’s family alongside the official launch of the Happy Meal Readers books in the Philippines.
“We are excited to join McDonald’s through the Happy Meal Readers program – a project that’s focused on encouraging close family bonding through book-reading and storytelling. This is something that we do as a family, and we’re happy to share this experience with more Filipino families,” shares Ryan and Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo.
Reading books for a cause
Parents and kids alike would be happy to find out that for every Happy Meal purchase, they are also sharing the love of reading among those who benefit from the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Philippines, Inc. (RMHC), whose flagship programs support the needs for shelter, education, and happiness of Filipino children.
For every Happy Meal bought, McDonald’s Philippines donates a portion to RMHC and its Ronald McDonald Read to Learn program which teaches beginning reading to grade 1 and grade 2 public school learners. As of now, the Ronald McDonald Read To Learn program has reached over 12 million students, trained over 28 thousand educators, and distributed more than 367 thousand books.
McDonald’s goal through RMHC is to contribute to the vision of improving the literacy skills of Filipino learners early on, and with the Happy Meal Readers’ all-new book option, the brand is thrilled to be able to create more opportunities for children to discover love for reading.
Starting February 21, 2020, you can visit your nearest McDonald’s store for a Happy meal, alongside its book or toy option, and share more heartwarming and memorable moments together with your family. Grab a copy of a Happy Meal Readers book to join the Treetop Twins adventures, and collect all 12 books for this year! To learn more about RMHC and how to help, you may visit www.rmhc.org.ph.
