A P.E.I. author has been chosen to take part in a national literacy initiative.
In honour of Family Literacy Day on Jan. 27, McDonald’s Canada has announced a partnership with First Book Canada that will see 400 brand new books donated in every province across Canada.
Special literacy-themed McDonald’s Family Night events will take place in 10 cities across the country on Wednesday, Jan. 29, and will feature live readings from local authors.
P.E.I. author Christine Gordon Manley will do a reading from her book, The Secret of Bowring Park, at the University Avenue location.
Here are the locations, the authors and the books they will be reading:
- Richmond, B.C. – Wade’s Wiggly Antlers by Louise Bradford
- Edmonton – My Forest is Green by Darren LeBeuf
- Saskatoon, Sask. – Polly Diamond and the Magic Book by Alice Kuipers
- Winnipeg – The Day Dad Joined my Soccer Team by Maureen Fergus
- Kingston, Ont. – ABC of Canada by Kim Bellafontaine
- Longueil, Que. – La grève du bain (Bath time Strike), Pierrette Dubé
- Paradise, N.L. – All Around the Circle by Cara Kansala
- Upper Tantallon, N.S. – The Secret Life of Squirrels by Nancy Rose
- Charlottetown – The Secret of Bowring Park by Christine Gordon Manley
- Oromocto, N.B. – If a Horse Had Words by Kelly Cooper
A donation of 300 books will go directly to local community centres, with 100 books distributed in select McDonald’s restaurants.
The partnership is part of McDonald’s ongoing commitment to literacy in Canada, empowering young people from coast-to-coast to get excited about reading and have access to books.
Family Literacy Day is a national awareness initiative created by ABC Life Literacy Canada in 1999 to raise awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family.
Children attending one of the literacy-themed McDonald’s Family Night events will receive a copy of the author’s book to take home (100 available per event).
McDonald’s Canada and First Book Canada will donate new books to the 15 Ronald McDonald Houses across the country, to update and replenish their Free Little Libraries. This donation provides families of sick children staying at the Houses with books to make their stay feel more like home.
Did you know?
- McDonald’s Canada began offering books as a choice in every Happy Meal through a partnership with Kids Can Press in 2017 and has since added a second publisher.
- All Happy Meal books contain high-quality children’s literature and are available in both English and French.
- Every eight weeks, four new books are available through the Happy Meal book or toy program, giving Canadian children another opportunity to fall in love with reading.
