The big problem with kids, apparently, is that they spend too much time obsessing over the Then and the When and not living in the moment. If only they were able to let go of non-immediate concerns and live in the Now, they’d be fine.

It’s a message that goes against common sense, logic, and just about all formal and informal understanding of how the minds of children work, but it is nonetheless the central one of Oprah-approved Vancouver author and new age guru Eckhart Tolle’s first book for children. (It is co-authored by Robert S. Friedman, the book’s Virginia-based publisher.)

Milton is a young boy who is being bullied at school. Naturally, he worries that this bullying will continue. Wrong, his grandfather tells him – he should be more like his pet cat, who is able to purr contentedly on Milton’s lap, despite having been attacked by a dog the night before. “Snuggles can easily let go of what happened yesterday, and he doesn’t worry about tomorrow. He lives in the Now.” (Elderly people, unlike children, are very good at living in the present, it would seem.)

Being told to think more like an animal with a brain the size of an apricot doesn’t do the trick, and Milton continues to worry. At least, that is, until he has a dream in which he meets a kindly lady who dispenses ice creams and platitudes and tells him to “feel the light inside you.”

Eckhart’s book counsels letting go not only of the past and future: it also seems that carefully written prose, plausible dialogue, effective illustrations, non-giggle-inducing scenarios, coherent messages, and familiarity with the conventions of children’s literature – and with children, period – are unnecessary burdens, blocking our path to the Now.

The only real consolation in all this is that any child unfortunate enough to be subjected to Milton’s Secret will quickly forget all about it.