Ok, look, unless you read them with utter naivete the books for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland WERE DARK. The are fucked up. Dahl can churn out plenty of child friendly books but if you haven't read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory since you turned 8, perhaps its time to revisit it. It was a dark book. How can you see a description of a child: In the original novel, Augustus is described as an enormous boy who has "fat bulging from every fold, with two greedy eyes peering out of his doughball of a head." and not be disturbed?
Alice in Wonderland was written by "Lewis Carroll"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lutwidge_Dodgson
The Dutchess' Lullaby
Lewis Carroll, 1832-1898
Speak roughly to your little boy,
And beat him when he sneezes:
He only does it to annoy,
Because he knows it teases.<truncated>
Seriously? The american idea of childrens' literature is very new age to say they can't handle the adult imagery most of the ones who don't understand it their minds edit it out and let it go, have you ever watched a movie or hell, Bugs Bunny cartoons as an adult and realized wait.... we WATCHED this? The fekking bunny was a cross-dresser!
Historically "childrens tales" have not been the consume sunshine and rainbows and poop butterflies type thing. Cinderellas sisters were said to have amputated portions of their feet to try to cram them into the shoes. If you want a good read pull Grimms Fairy Tales!
Father William
"You are old, Father William," the young man said,
"And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head—
Do you think, at your age, it is right?"
"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,
"I feared it might injure the brain;
But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again."
"You are old," said the youth, "As I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door—
Pray, what is the reason of that?"
"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
"I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment—one shilling the box—
Allow me to sell you a couple?"
"You are old," said the youth, "And your jaws are too weak
For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak—
Pray, how did you manage to do it?"
"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law,
And argued each case with my wife;
And the muscular strength which it gave to my jaw,
Has lasted the rest of my life."
"You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose
That your eye was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose—
What made you so awfully clever?"
"I have answered three questions, and that is enough,"
Said his father; "don't give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs!"
Child abuse anyone?