In line with its commitment to feel good moments, McDonald’s UAE is offering the option of free exclusive books by celebrated author Cressida Cowell with every Happy Meal to spread the joy of reading 

DUBAI, UAE – 08 April 2019 — Everyday, millions of families come together at McDonald’s to celebrate moments of togetherness. As one of the most popular family restaurants in the world, McDonald’s recognizes the opportunity to make a positive contribution and has launched its Happy Meal Reader Program to encourage children across the UAE to take up reading. 

McDonald’s will offer the option of a free children’s book written by award-winning author Cressida Cowell to celebrate the joy of reading with every Happy Meal purchased. The renowned writer, who is widely known for her popular ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ series, has teamed up with McDonald’s to create 12 exclusive hardback books for the campaign dubbed Treetop Twins Adventures. Two new books will run every eight weeks, encouraging McDonald’s young customers to continue developing their passion for reading.

“As one of the most popular family restaurants in the country, at McDonald’s UAE we recognize that we can use our scale for good. Through this campaign, we want children to discover the joys of reading. The books have been written  with the children in mind, and will hopefully inspire some fun family storytelling moments. This unique collaboration between McDonald’s, Cowell and Hachette Children’s Group, one of the largest children’s publishers in the UK, will give parents and children the choice of books by Cowell with every Happy Meal throughout 2019. We believe this collaboration has the ability to excite children and families in the UAE to make reading fun and create priceless family moments of togetherness,” said Mr Rafic Fakih, Managing Director and Partner at McDonald’s UAE. 

This exclusive series of books will also be available on the McDonald’s Happy Meal App, providing a digital reading experience. Families can access the books through the app for an exciting, interactive experience; a move which underscores McDonald’s UAE’s commitment to the program. 

McDonald’s passion for reading dates back to 2001, starting with Sweden first introducing a children’s book offering as part of the Happy Meal bundle. Since then, additional markets adopted this practice, which we now call the Happy Meal Readers book program. To date, McDonald’s and its franchisees have distributed close to 450 million books globally through Happy Meal Readers.