A few Fun Friday stories for this week. First up: Mott’s Fruit Flavored Snacks is launching Mott’s Snacks & Stories, a free book redemption program in partnership with Penguin Random House to celebrate culture, family, and community by reading stories together with kids—because the books we read as kids shape who we become as adults. 

The Mott’s Snacks & Stories program makes it easier for families to expand their home libraries with multicultural stories, which has added importance with nearly 45% of children in the U.S. living in book deserts with limited access to books. With each purchase of Mott’s Fruit Flavored Snacks, families everywhere can redeem their receipt to receive one of 16 children’s books that celebrate multiculturalism.  

The new Mott’s Snacks & Stories Mobile Library is hitting the road on a mission to further increase access to children’s books across the U.S. and encourage reading together. Attendees will be able to explore the mobile library, enjoy Mott’s Fruit Flavored Snacks, read the 16 stories in the Mott’s collection and even take home a copy of their favorite book for free (while supplies last). 

Oftentimes this lack of access to books is experienced in the same communities not represented in literature as only 7% of children’s and young adult’s books published in 2022 had significant Latine/x content according to books received by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center in 2022, which is why Mott’s chose to highlight several multicultural stories for Snacks & Stories. 

Anyone can participate in the Mott’s Snacks & Stories book program. Through July 2024, families who purchase Mott’s Fruit Flavored Snacks at retailers nationwide can redeem their receipt to receive up to 16 children’s books. More details about how to get free books from Mott’s Snacks & Stories can be found at MottsStories.com. 

Bear steals gummy bears

From YouTube:

The owners of a gas station in Lake Cowichan, B.C., are used to people coming in to get snacks, but one recent customer was completely unexpected—a bear. 

“This little black bear walked in the door… It’s a first,” Karen deGoesbriand, owner of Tiptons Gas Bar, told Global News. 

Her husband Jay was behind the counter, sipping his coffee, and he stood up in shock, "bearing" witness to a robbery in progress, says the video caption.

The bear decided the snack it wanted to take was a bag of 75-cent gummy candy. 

See the video here.

Wheaties, Playstation team up on limited-edition Spider-Man novelty box

Wheaties is teaming up with PlayStation to a launch a limited run of Spider-Man novelty boxes featuring comic book heroes Peter Parker and Miles Morales in celebration of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on PlayStation 5, which releases today.

The cereal box is available for sale in two options only on Shop.Wheaties.com: 

• The limited-edition Wheaties x Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 cereal box featuring Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 prequel comic and digital activation code for custom PlayStation Stars Digital Collectible for $45. 
• The limited-edition Wheaties x Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 cereal box featuring Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 prequel comic in a custom acrylic case (only 500 of these cases available!) and digital activation code for custom PlayStation Stars Digital Collectible for $70.

To nod to the game’s capability where players can quickly switch between Peter Parker and Miles Morales to experience their unique stories and try their new superpowers, the novelty, dual-facing Wheaties box highlights both Spider-Man characters. Each limited-edition box comes with a copy of the game’s prequel comic, detailing the events that cause Peter and Miles to team up to face an all-new threat.