World Book Day partners with McDonald's

World Book Day and McDonald's are joining forces in a partnership that will see £1 World Book Day tokens appear on Happy Meal boxes in the UK and Ireland.

McDonald’s has distributed 90 million free books since 2013 as part of its Happy Readers campaign and says this partnership is part of its ongoing commitment to support family reading. World Book Day, which this year takes place on 5th March, is now in its 21st year as a charity and has distributed over 300 million World Book Day tokens to children across the UK and Ireland.

Cassie Chadderton, chief executive of World Book Day, said: "We are thrilled to announce that World Book Day is working with McDonald’s to encourage even more families to share stories together. McDonald’s has an ongoing commitment to family reading and engages with millions of families across the UK and Ireland. This partnership will help World Book Day to encourage all children to discover the joy of books and reading for pleasure."

From Wednesday 5th February to Tuesday 17th March, the £1 World Book Day token will feature on every single McDonald‚Äôs Happy Meal box across the UK and Ireland. Children and families can swap it for one of a wide range of World Book Day free books by authors including Anthony Horowitz, Onjali Q Ra√∫f, Matt Haig, Greg James & Chris Smith, and Beth Reekles, or get £1 off a book or audiobook costing £2.99 or more, at their local participating bookshop or supermarket between 27th February and 29th March.

Gareth Helm, senior vice--president and chief marketing officer of McDonald’s, added: "We are incredibly proud of our Happy Readers scheme, with over 90 million books given away to families across the UK and Ireland since 2013. Our partnership with World Book Day is yet another way in which we are making it easier for families to enjoy reading together. We hope the distribution of World Book Day tokens on our Happy Meal boxes will encourage even more families to Share a Story and celebrate the magic of reading together."

This year, building on the success of the Share a Story campaign, World Book Day is calling on the nation to Share a Million Stories throughout World Book Day month.