They say no publicity is bad publicity, and for that Paul M. Kramer must be truly grateful. Since word of his upcoming children’s book, Maggie Goes On a Diet spread throughout the blogosphere, he has received considerable bad press.

The LA Times, Chicago Sun Times, and Time Magazine, among many other print media outlets have run articles on the controversy surrounding Kramer’s book. Overseas, the Daily Mail and the Irish Times ran articles, as did the Sydney Morning Herald. Kramer has appeared on Good Morning America as well as CNN and Fox News to defend the book.

The controversy stems from different takes on childhood obesity. At what age should children worry about getting fat? At what age should diets enter a child’s conscious? And should body image and being thin be seen by children as keys to success in life? The cover also has generated controversy, showing a chubby Maggie holding a dress and seeing her ideal self as much thinner in the mirror.

If controversy sells, Mr. Kramer, along with illustrator Mari Kuwayama, have a best seller on their hands.