Flickr | Wee Sen Goh

Instead Of Toys, New Zealand Happy Meals Now Come With Roald Dahl Books

Happy Meal toys have been a staple of childhood for many people, but be honest, how long did you actually play with those toys when you got them?

I mean, sure, there were some good ones, but most were cheap and boring.

Personally, I would have loved to get books instead.

I was a pretty bookish kid anyway, but part of what allows kids to learn to enjoy reading is having books around that they might be interested in.

Since not every family can afford a vast library, I love it when companies decide to do their part to promote reading too.

I earned myself a lot of free personal pan pizzas back in the day.

Instagram | @bookitprogram

While I'm sure there have been other examples throughout the years, the biggest one I can think of is Pizza Hut's BOOK IT! program, which launched in 1984 and is still going strong today.

They even have an app for it now.

Instagram | @bookitprogram

As much as I'd like to wax nostalgic about paper logbooks and stickers, an app definitely makes more sense now. I guess.

But you better be damn sure that I'm getting my hands on one of those retro logo t-shirts ASAP. I need it in my life.

Of course, we shouldn't only rely on a big company to promote reading to our kids.

Instagram | @mominareads

But, there's also no need to let perfection get in the way of the good. The more initiatives that promote reading to kids, the better, I think.

That's why I love the latest idea by McDonald's in New Zealand.

For six weeks, Happy Meals in the country will come with one of six special editions of classic Roald Dahl books.

Now, these aren't full editions of the books. Instead, they are booklets that contain excerpts from the stories alongside stickers and activities.

This bugged me at first. Like, why not just give the actual books?

After thinking about it, though, I decided that it's perfect.

Instagram | @i_weigh

For particularly young or inexperienced readers, a big chapter book like The BFG might seem intimidating. By pairing a taste of the story with fun activities, kids can decide if they like what they've read enough to want to read more.

This is all part of McDonald's Happy Meal Readers program, which launched in 2001.

Instagram | @thelaughingsamurai

Since it launched, the program has given away over 450 million books and, with plans to expand the program to more than 100 countries, that number's just going to keep going up.

Different countries have implemented the program in their own ways.

In Canada, kids get to choose between a toy or one of two books.

This program is ongoing, with the book choices cycling every two months to feature works by Canadian children's authors.

However it's done, I'm glad that McDonald's is adding reading to the menu and I think I may just re-read Matilda in celebration.