New children's book on dieting called 'outrageous,' 'horrifying' and 'dangerous'

There are many dieting books on shelves for adults — ones about healthy living, losing weight fast, the right way to diet. Come October, they will be joined by a dieting book aimed at children.

"Maggie Goes on a Diet" is a book about a 14-year-old girl who is overweight and insecure. After she diets, she becomes the school soccer star, gains confidence and develops a positive self-image, according to the overview by Barnes and Noble.

The cover of the book shows the overweight Maggie holding up a sleeveless pink dress and looking into the mirror at a skinnier version of herself.

The children's book is set to come out in the middle of October and is aimed at children as young as 4, according to the product details at Amazon.com.

Already, the book has come under attack.

Some reviewers on Barnes and Noble have called the book "outrageous," "horrifying" and "dangerous."

"How dare you assume that any child's shape is intrinsically requiring of change before their body is even done growing up?" one reviewer wrote.

Some reviewers admitted that they became anorexic at young ages and fear that a book like this may cause more to do the same.

"Unfortunately, the book puts 'skinny' and 'fashion' first by emphasizing fitting into a form-fitting pink dress and 'popularity' as opposed to focusing on health, exercise and eating better," another reviewer wrote this week. "It is unacceptable that the book focuses on teenage girls only and not ALL children. Why is that? Why is a boy not the main character, fretting about fitting into his football jersey?"

"For a book like this to be published is bad enough, for any parent to buy it would be unforgivable," wrote another on Amazon's review page. "The thought of anyone reading this to a 4- to 8-year-old is disgusting."

The author of the book, Paul Kramer, told "Good Morning America" that the book is supposed to "help kids make healthy choices."

He told the media outlet "he wrote the book not to stir up controversy, but to help children build confidence and know they are not alone with their struggles."

ABC quoted the author as saying, "My intentions were just to write a story to entice and to have children feel better about themselves, discover a new way of eating, learn to do exercise, try to emulate Maggie and learn from Maggie's experience. Children are pretty smart ... and they will make a good choice if you give them that opportunity."