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McDonald’s trades toys for books in Happy Meals through Valentine’s Day

Posted at 9:12 PM, Feb 04, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-04 21:12:12-05

The food may not be any healthier for your child, but there will be some educational value in their Happy Meals.

McDonald’s is swapping out its signature toys from Happy Meals through February 15 in favor of books.

“Ensuring children have access to books has proven instrumental in combating illiteracy in children in the United States,” said Carol Rasco, the president and CEO of Reading is Fundamental, which is the country’s biggest children’s literacy organization. RIF and McDonald’s have partnered up since 2013 to provide books to children through Happy Meals.

The Los Angeles Times reports that more than 17 million books will be distributed during this time frame.

There will be four different books, so you may have to make multiple trips to complete the collection: “Paddington” by Michael Bond; “Clark the Shark Takes Heart” by Bruce Hale; “Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse!” by Laura Numeroff; and “Pete the Cat: Valentine’s Day is Cool” by Kimberly and James Dean.

This is the third time that the chain has swapped the toys for books, and since 2013 the company has given away 50 million books, if you include the ones expected to be distributed through February 15, 2016. That’s enough to provide every child in America under the age of 12 with a book.

McDonald’s also donated 100,000 books to RIF.