History WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids / Literature

* ''Literature/GoodnightMisterTom'': For the most part, the story is a heartwarming tale about a scared and impoverished [[BlitzEvacuees evacuee]] (Will) bonding with a GrumpyOldMan [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold With A Heart Of Gold]] (Tom) in an IdyllicEnglishVillage. But what [[AbusiveParent Will's]] [[TheFundamentalist mother]] does in ''one chapter'' when he returns to London is pure NightmareFuel (see above). [[spoiler: She beats him, [[ClosetPunishment locks him in a cupboard]] with his infant sister, and disappears, trapping him there with the (presumably) screaming baby for God knows how long. By the time Tom comes to check on him the baby has starved to death and Will is barely clinging on to life. Oh, and she [[DrivenToSuicide commits suicide later]], too.]] Bear in mind that this book is frequently given to '''primary-school aged children''' learning about UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo.

* ''Literature/GoodnightMisterTom'': For the most part, the story is a heartwarming tale about a scared and impoverished [[BlitzEvacuees evacuee]] (Will) bonding with a GrumpyOldMan [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold With A Heart Of Gold]] (Tom) in an IdyllicEnglishVillage. But what [[AbusiveParent Will's]] [[TheFundamentalist mother]] does in ''one chapter'' when he returns to London is pure NightmareFuel (see above). [[spoiler: She beats him, [[ClosetPunishment locks him in a cupboard]] with his infant sister, and disappears trapping him there with the (presumably) screaming baby for God knows how long. By the time Tom comes to check on him the baby has starved to death and Will is barely clinging on to life. Oh, and she [[DrivenToSuicide commits suicide later]], too.]] Bear in mind that this book is frequently given to '''primary-school aged children''' learning about UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo.

* ''Literature/GoodnightMisterTom'': For the most part, the story is a heartwarming tale about a scared and impoverished [[BlitzEvacuees evacuee]] bonding with a GrumpyOldMan [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold With A Heart Of Gold]] in an IdyllicEnglishVillage. But what [[AbusiveParent Will's]] [[TheFundamentalist mother]] does in ''one chapter'' when he returns to London is pure NightmareFuel (see above). [[spoiler: She beats him, [[ClosetPunishment locks him in a cupboard]] with his infant sister, and disappears trapping him there with the (presumably) screaming baby for God knows how long. By the time Tom comes to check on him the baby has starved to death and Will is barely clinging on to life. Oh, and she [[DrivenToSuicide commits suicide later]], too.]] Bear in mind that this book is frequently given to '''primary-school aged children''' learning about UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo.

** ''Chicken Soup for the Kid's Soul'' acts as a portable support book, with it's tagline promising a collection of happy-go-lucky stories of "Hope, Love, and Laughter." It's supposed to be uplifting since it's Chicken Soup for the Soul we're talking about here, right? But what it didn't mention was that it featured stories that many young readers may find disturbing, especially in the "Tough Stuff" section portion of the book, as it talks on serious topics that go into great detail such as drug abuse, attempted suicide, and tragic deaths. One story talks about how a kid dies breaking their neck when he jumps off a moving train in fear of how far away from home he was, another has someone's friend getting strangled to death while riding in a car, gang violence and almost getting killed, parents doing drugs, another with the parents molesting a little girl for six years, another has the daughter of a drug injection user waking up in her bed one night only see to her horror with a SWAT Team completely surrounding her with their guns pointing directly at her head, and a dog getting hit by a car and getting put to sleep. There is even a section in bold letters called "ON DEATH AND DYING", with a quote stating how everyone eventually dies some day, which can be haunting to kids to read, as death isn't exactly a topic most kids are thrilled to learn about. These are hardly stories suitable for the intended audience, ages 8-13. This would've been more acceptable had these stories been in the teenage/adult Chicken Soup stories instead. There are a lot of parents complaining how these stories made their child cry themselves to sleep, and now many people are being lead to believe that the book is NOT the uplifting, spiritual guide that they thought it was. While the inclusion of these stories were well-intentioned, there's no way they are "chicken soup" for the average kid's soul.

* ''Literature/IWantMyHatBack'' sounds and looks like its aimed at a very young audience however [[spoiler:the rabbit being eaten by the bear in revenge]] is certainly not something you see in most picture books.

* ''Literature/{{Phenomena}}'': While the main series is dark enough already it is with it's strangely 9+, [[AscendedExtra Azur's spin-offs]] are said to be for younger children. The first 4 books are filled with suspense, he's banned from his home and he's kidnapped and tortured, in [[FromBadToWorse the 5th book]] his brother is seen covered in the blood of innocent people, in the 6th he, himself, is seen covered in blood of innocents eating of an uncensored torn off leg complete with a SlasherSmile, on the cover. Worse still, the books are illustrated so you can see his suffering on every page.

* ''The Restaurant of Many Orders'' by Kenji Miyazawa, collected in a children's anthology of the same name. The story concerns an eating establishment [[spoiler:that kills patrons and cooks them after issuing requests (the "many orders" in the title) that the patrons partially prepare themselves.]]

* The entire point of ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' series ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'' was to be a horror series for kids, [[FollowTheLeader a la]] Literature/{{Goosebumps}}. BodyHorror and {{Mind Screw}}s abounded to the point where the book that revolved around ghosts was the least scary of the twelve. Hell, they introduced a planet that [[QuicksandSucks eats people alive]] in the ''very first book''. Other lovely highlights include worms that suck the marrow out of your bones so that the empty space can be filled with a serum that makes you [[AndIMustScream an unwitting zombie]], a [[IKnowWhatYouFear machine that traps you in your own nightmares]], forcible conversion into a [[BrainInAJar B'omarr brain spider]], swarms of [[EatenAlive beetles that eat you from the inside out]], other humans [[ImAHumanitarian who also think your flesh is tasty]], and some of the sickest {{Mad Scientist}}s in the Star Wars universe. Special mention goes to the psychological trauma that goes with the question "If clones made of you have all your memories and think they are you, ''[[TomatoInTheMirror how do you know you yourself aren't a clone?]]''
** Special mention to the constant AdultFear of having lost your entire family but one, and having that one constantly in danger.

* ''Literature/TheGirlOfInkAndStars'' has a premise that sounds innocent enough: the PluckyGirl protagonist must journey into the forbidden forest and use her skills with map-making to find her pampered but sweet best friend. However, the story itself features said protagonist growing up in a town ruled with an iron fist by a cruel Governor (who whips people and does other horrible things) corrupt law enforcers, demon attacks, descriptions of the decaying environment, and, early on, the town being spooked by [[spoiler: the brutal murder of a '''thirteen year-old girl'''.]] It's also rife with AdultFear, and features the search party [[spoiler: ''finding a desolate village filled with bones and an 'X' made from dried blood and dog teeth.'']] The book also doesn't shy away with its descriptions of blood, wounds, scars, or how much Isabella's journey is wearing her down, physically and mentally. It's not ''gory'' or anything, but it still gets quite dark at times.

** The very nature of the one book = one school year ratio forces this. Even if there were no magical elements at all, 17-year-old graduating high school seniors face very different issues than 11-year-old sixth graders.

** ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'' is generally more mature (which makes sense as the characters themselves are more mature). It has torture scenes, {{family unfriendly death}}s, kid-eating wolves, oh, and ''two teenagers travelling through the worst parts of hell''.

* ''Literature/TheCampHalfBloodSeries'', because lest we forget a novel series for preteens about Myth/ClassicalMythology is still ''about Classical Mythology''. It's literally canon that most [[SemiDivine half-bloods]] don't live past their teen years, and the main reason Calp Half-Blood exists is to prevent this. And it ''still'' doesn't always do so.

* Katharine Tozer's ''Mumfie'' novels inspired [[WesternAnimation/MagicAdventuresOfMumfie an animated series]] from the creator of ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'''s television adaptation. However, the original books occasionally deviated from the lighthearted tone of most episodes of that series:

** ''Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul'' has a very disturbing story in which a father makes a little boy shoot a deer in order to teach him about valuing the time you have left in this life. The father surely could've taught the boy a more humane method of the moral, it would've been understandable had the father mentioned how God put animals to nourish them and that's why they sometimes have to kill them and to be thankful for the life that they were given and not to waste it, but that's not what happened and the way it was said and done could very much bother kids and leave a sour taste in even adult readers. There's also someone's mother getting blown up while working late one night, someone's cat getting gassed, and just like ''Kid's Soul'', also features topics on sexual abuse, drug use, and accidental suicide. The intended age is the same as in ''Kid's Soul''.

** ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': The age recommendation for these books - 11, 12, 13 - is surprising to some parents, reviewers, and even older teen readers. Maybe it's the inclusion of decapitation, suicide, torture, mutilation, child prostitution; death by fire or venom, being buried alive, and other psychologically and emotionally disturbing content that raises their eyebrows, or maybe it's the fact that Katniss, the viewpoint character and protagonist, is sixteen and the book appears to focus on the fears and themes most relevant to that age group.

* ''Mama Ga Obake Ni Natchatta'', a Japanese picture book from Nobumi (who is also a character designer for NHK's ''Miitsuketa'' and ''Series/OkaasanToIssho''), is about a child and the ghost of his mother. While the book is intended for ages three and up, some parents complained that it is too emotional and scary for children.

* [[Literature/{{Dragons}} The Last Dragon Chronicles]], with a side order of MoodWhiplash. The first book in the series plays out like a traditional kid's story, with squirrels and magic clay dragons, and would appear to leave no doubt as to who the target audience of the series is. The ''later'' books, however, have violence up the wazoo (including one [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice horrifyingly dark]] DownerEnding), existential crises, and a great deal of speculation on the nature of the universe, which leads to some [[MindScrew very messed-up stuff]]. However, [[LighterAndSofter the spinoff wears its kiddie-colors proudly]].

* Lemony Snickett's ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''. A story about a man who murders just about every character in the series trying to kill three orphans to get their inheritance. This includes characters being eaten alive, death by harpoon gun, and the untold unmentionables who didn't escape the hospital fire. Completely justified, since it comes with the SnicketWarningLabel.

* Lemony Snicket's ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''. A story about a man who murders just about every character in the series trying to kill three orphans to get their inheritance. This includes characters being eaten alive, death by harpoon gun, and the untold unmentionables who didn't escape the hospital fire. Completely justified, since it comes with the SnicketWarningLabel.

** Book eight has a character who, though appearing to be fifteen (and probably around the same stage of puberty as any ''real'' teen), is really about 27, first outright saying that he wants to date said real teens ("That's the thing I love about high school girls: I keep getting older, they stay the same age") and then trying to do... ''something'' to his much-older teacher (who is very likely younger than him.)

* ''Polleke'' Series by Gujs Kuuper is a book series about a girl called Polleke, who is 11 in the first book and 13 in the last. The series is clearly aimed at children, yet contains serious themes: the heroine's father is a junkie, her mother divorced and expelled him because of that, one of her friends is a girl who fled from Mexico after her father was killed. And in the last book Polleke comes this close to being molested by a man who lures her in his car.

* The ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' trilogy is also mainly aimed at kids and features a world where human's soul takes form of an animal companion. It also features what is essentially ripping a soul out of a body, children being kidnapped and experimented on and ''killed'', as well messy fight between sapient armored polar bears. And that's just the first book - in the next one, one of the protagonists loses two fingers in a city infested with specters that suck life of their victims so they become motionless and die of starvation, and the last book features the visit to the land of the dead.

** The author's also had to point out to those that say [[Film/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone the first book]] was much lighter than the others that it does open with a double homicide and the attempted murder of a defenseless infant. The first book also contains: the strangulation of a child, head-bashing, gruesome injury and descriptions of blood, graphic descriptions of burning, and the death of a man, caused by an 11 year old boy who was just trying to defend himself from attack.

** Umbridge forcing Harry to carve words into the back of his hand. The magic quill carves the letters in Harry's skin, and then magically heals his hand. This leaves no marks at first, but then is repeated [[BodyHorror untill no amount of magic healing can heal the scars from repeated cuts]], basically tattooing the words on his hand.