Encouraging kids to read has led
General Mills Inc. to think outside of the box by putting millions of books inside the box. For the seventh year now, through its Spoonfuls of Stories program, Cheerios is offering 5 million books free inside Cheerios cereal boxes, with stories that make it fun for parents and children to read together. This year's books are chosen to hold broad appeal, with stories about a duck who runs for president; a girl who imitates zoo animals; stores that give out free dinosaurs with every purchase; two friends who blast off and discover another world; and Nickelodeon characters Dora and Diego's daring adventure to rescue a wolf pup. The program kicked off this fall during Give a Child a Book Week. "Every year, we review 50 to 80 books, and, with input from literacy experts and parents, we choose five books that we hope children and parents will enjoy," says Jeff Hingher, marketing manager for Cheerios. "This year we are also specially printing three of the five books, or 3 million books in total, in English and Spanish."
