Hello everyone!
Today we are going to touch the matter of... books. Books were never a hot topic, so no wonder one would never hear about them in the evening news. Rarely do any breakthroughs take place in the winternational literacy politics. But this week is special, as we are going to see in a moment.
For the bookworms 2013 has started with two electrifying news. One comes from the United Kingdom, the other from Turkey. Let's have a look what it brings!
So we start with the UK. McDonald's is going to replace Happy Meal toys with... books. The news is striking. It means that English children would get about 15 million books in England over the next two years! Why is the most recognizable fast-food chain turning into the distribution of books?
Well, it seems that books are just in fashion, at least amongst the parents. After launching a pilot program, McDonald's heads found the feedback 'overwhelmingly positive'. What's more, survey proves that 9 out of 10 parents is expects more book promotions from the fast-food chain. Conclusions are clear: promoting literacy is just another marketing strategy.
Personally, I am all for this kind of action. Even if is is just another method of buliding up a brand. Give books away! Let's teach children that these mysterious sheets of paper wrapped in colorful covers are just another toys worth spending time at. Even McDonald's was able to notic ethat. "When children own their own books, it makes a huge difference to their reading," says chain's official, Conal Presho.
The action is partly sponsored by the British National Literacy Trust. The Organization seems to notice a positive contribution of this marketing strategy. "Our focus is on using any way we can to encourage children to read, and to read anything they can, whether that's menus in restaurants, non-fiction books or magazines – anything which spreads children's enjoyment of reading."
Giveaway books - the kids WILL love it, says McDonald's. Who would dare to doubt?
Now let's switch to good news from Turkey, an infamous country where te situation for writers is as bad as anywhere in the region. Nowadays, in 2013, the country still imposes publication bans and imprisons the authors who do not go along with the official politics. The censorship has started decades ago. However, there is no one central body responsible for that. As we can see, lifting the law causes much legal problems.
And it wasn't till this weekend that an important legal change was made. The parliament passed a bill that would enable the banned to be read again. And the numbers are striking! Over 23,000 books can now be printed freely. Amongst them "The Communist Manifesto" that now will be available in the country for the first time!
The law came into effect so quietly, that one may wonder if it is really true. But let's hope it is a sign of change. Turkey’s record on freedom of expression is alarming. The the country has more journalists in prison than any other, more than Iran or China.
For more info about this week book issues, read more at the New Yorker online magazine:http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/
QUESTIONS:
1) Is the McDonald's action a good way to promote books to children?
1) Is the McDonald's action a good way to promote books to children?
2) This year most of the European countries would lift the ban for Adolf Hitler's infamous book "Mein Kampf", known for its racists and radically xenophobic ideas. Do you think that the state should have a possibilty to choose which books may be printed and which may not?
sources:
http://www.ramendays.com/mcdonalds-uk-putting-books-in-their-happy-meals-instead-of-toys/
ReplyDelete1. I think what McDonald's is doing is fantastic. It is essential for child's development to read books. There is no other way to increase vocabulary and develop speech.Books are fantastic. I hope this programme will be supported and we will be seeing children leaving McDonald's holding book in their hand. At least one good thing coming out from eating junk food.
2. Personally,I believe in freedom of the speech and strongly support all writers and their masterpieces. I think the government should have no rights to deny any type of publications.It is up to the individuals to decide what to read and what impact it will have on them. People should not be punished for having different point of view and wanting to share it with the world.Furthermore,it is essential to be exposed to controversial and morally wrong readings to be able to differentiate between right and wrong.
I really like the McDonald’s idea about the way they will promote books. Eve though, I am not sure whether books should be connected with eating hamburgers but since we know that children will always like fast foods, introducing books may be a good way to make them read. Books are crucial for the development of young people who often find it boring. When it comes to government’s possibility to decide whether or not the books should be printed, I believe there must be someone who controls what we are given. It would be very unadvisable if children were given some rubbish books. The same thing with TV- the media cannot be free for everyone who wants to say something (this is the role of the Internet whose results we can already see, I mean people making fun of the others or offending them because of the freedom of speech) i.e. someone has to be responsible for the quality of programs that we are presented with. The example with Adolf Hitler really shows how negative it can be to let the books be printed. Concluding, reading books is very important part of our lives as it gives us a lot of information and lets us experience something different from what do in our daily lives and this is why I admire the idea of children being given books in McDonald’s and I think that government should have control over the production of books.
ReplyDelete1. I think McDonald's shares is a good idea but if it is successful we will see, because I think that the toys to eat it was a supplement for children for a while, play with it for food, and that's all. I hope it will make it readable books for children will increase because of it.
ReplyDelete2. I believe that the state should not restrict the freedom of expression. We live in a time in which he says out loud that there is freedom of speech and such a move would have testified about the fact that freedom of speech is a fiction.