By Dennis Abrams

Reading in a coffee house took on a whole new meaning last week as Starbucks, for the time in its history offered a children’s book as part of its Pick of the Week Promotion.

Customers, by using a code found on the Pick of the Week cards distributed in Starbucks stores receive free download of Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl:  Book One (Disney-Hyperion) from iTunes.  The promotion neatly ties in with the publication in July of the eighth and final book in Colfer’s best-selling series (more than 13 million copies in print in the US alone), Artemis Fowl:  The Last Guardian.

According to Linda Mills, senior manager of global brand PR for the company, the Starbucks team handpicks its selections “based on consumer insights, timelines, and trends.  Naturally, we want to showcase the content that will be most relevant and timely for our customers.  The Pick of the Week program continues to build on our digital offerings, focusing on finding new and innovative ways to engage our customers.”

A limited supply of the weekly promotional cards is available at participating Starbucks operated and licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada.