Is this the worst children's book ever?
A book about dieting for children aged 6 to 12 years goes on sale in top book sellers
Barnes & Noble, Amazon and other book publishers have a new children's book increasing their pre-order sales at the moment - Maggie Goes On A Diet.
The book has a recommended reading age of 6 to 12 years on Barnes & Noble and is about, and this quote is from the actual book description, "a 14 year old girl who goes on a diet and is transformed from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star. Through time, exercise and hard work, Maggie becomes more and more confident and develops a positive self image."
The author, Hawaii's Paul Kramer, has a history of writing books for children, one of which is entitled Do Not Dread Wetting the Bed.
While we're yet to see the book in the flesh, the front cover image of a girl wearing an unflattering jumper, presumably looking at her thinner self in the mirror and holding a teeny dress up, already has us doubting its message.
"Concerns about weight, size and shape are beginning to affect children at ever younger ages. Six- and seven-year-olds already believe that their size tells the world what sort of person they are, and that big equals fat equals unpopular," said Susan Ringwood, of the UK eating disorder charity Beat, reports the Daily Mail.
More like this
Size 0 models, yo-yo dieting celebs and ghastly children's t-shirts cause controversy in their own right, but encouraging children as young as 6 to start dieting? We think we'll be leaving this one on the shelf.
What do you think?
Read more...
Authors
How NatPat's wellness patches may help your family
NatPat's range of wellness patches and stickers aim to tackle everything from allergies to lack of focus. We take a closer look at the range.