You probably know that my kids love books. Noey in particular is a voracious reader and it is something I’m rather thankful for. Even if, one of the phrases I most commonly utter is “Stop reading!!” because he is ALWAYS reading, sometimes at the most inappropriate moments!
What I don’t mention so much is that my kids love McDonald’s. Yup, few things make them as happy as a Happy Meal! This is almost entirely my father’s doing, the man regularly brought me to Macs for a cheeseburger and a milkshake when I was little. As a result, Macs features many of my happy childhood memories. This is why I find it hard to say no to him bringing the children to McDonald’s for a treat. But I’m glad that these days, the kiddy options are much healthier than they were when I was a child. These include lower calorie options like Apple Slices or the Corn Cup (now with lower sodium), and Magnolia Lo-Fat Hi-Cal milk. Mei in fact will choose the Corn Cup over french fries every time. I myself also really enjoy the apple slices that I’ve sometimes had the opportunity to steal off my kids — they are so deliciously crunchy!
I’ve also appreciated the efforts made by McDonalds to switch to using canola-blend oil to fry Chicken McNuggets after they are par fried in sunflower oil. this apparently has reduced the level of saturated fat by approximately 30%.
Now I have even more reason to cheer because in part of their ongoing commitment to the happiness and well-being of kids, McDonald’s will be distributing little books from renown book publisher Dorling Kindersley (“DK”) with their Happy Meals! This latest offer started on 3 September and you might have noticed this if you’ve visited a McDonald’s over the past week. Personally, I am thrilled that this is being offered, and having taken a look at the titles, I would really recommend collecting all the titles you can get hold of because these handy little books are really great.
The full range of DK books. Get one free with every Happy Meal, while stocks last.
There are two series of book that you can choose from — the “WOW” series and the “Watch Me Grow” series. Here’s a quick look at each of them.
The “Watch Me Grow” series is animal-themed and would be one which I think would appeal more to the littler ones. These books are written from the first-person perspective of each animal and introduces facts about each animal in a simple yet engaging manner. There are also fold-out flaps which my four-year old liked and which helped her to interact with the book. I thought the titles were also very well selected as these are animals that particularly endear themselves to kids. They certainly appealed to mine!
“Watch Me Grow” — Elephant
Internal cover and contents page.
The extra fold-out flaps with additional information were a delight to the kids.
A helpful little glossary at the end.
The “WOW” series appealed more to my six-going-on-seven year old. These covered a broad range of general knowledge and human interest topics, namely Space, Art & Culture, Human Body and Ancient History. These books are power-packed with lots of information and pictures for a highly visual experience. But what my son enjoyed the most were the interactive elements, like the pages you could fill in with the stickers provided. He also enjoyed the little quizzes that could be found in the book. I found this series very informative and I definitely learnt a thing or two reading these books too!
“WOW” Series — Art & Culture
Contents Page
The pages on Art, a subject I particularly love. I loved the pictures plus the fact that Asian art is included.
Pages on the Theatre, with spaces for stickers to be pasted in.
Some of the stickers found at the back of the book.
The Spot The Difference quiz!
One book from each series will be released every week on Thursday morning 11am on the following schedule:
Week 1 (3 to 9 Sep)
1. Watch Me Grow — Panda
2. WOW — Human Body
Week 2 (10 to 16 Sep)
1. Watch Me Grow — Butterfly
2. WOW — Art and Culture
Week 3 (17 to 23 Sep)
1. Watch Me Grow — Elephant
2. WOW — Ancient History
Week 4 (24 Sep to 30 Sep)
1. Watch Me Grow — Penguin
2. WOW — Space
Get these books while stocks last! (And from personal experience, they seem to be running out rather quickly!)
In the weekends, Ronald MacDonald will also be on-hand at selected McDonalds outlets to add more fun into reading with some Art & Craft! These will be taking place from 10am to 12pm on the following dates and locations:
12 Sep — McDonald’s West Coast Park
13 Sep — McDonald’s Jurong Central Park
19 Sep — McDonald’s Bishan Park
20 Sep — McDonald’s Ang Mo Kio Park
26 Sep — McDonald’s Kallang
27 Sep — McDonald’s Ridout Tea Garden
A Happy Meal and a book to read. I don’t think my kids could ask for more this September!
*Thanks to McDonald’s for the full set of books, which we received in return for this review! All opinions remain, as always, my own.
Read this just in time! Might just head there tomorrow! Thanks!
I see you did! Glad you had fun!