Is it for the children, or about the children?

In our class discussions we have frequently touched upon the subject of the selections we are reading either being "literature FOR children" or "children IN literature." The Wide, Wide World and The Lamplighter were clearly in the FOR category rather than the IN. We see a pleasant story develop, nothing too frightening for a child to read. There is a good moral and the good wins. Nothing too awful happens and there is always a lesson. It sets an example of how children should behave and live. There is not too much emphasis placed on the setting or descriptions of things. Much of this is left up to the imagination of the reader. I think this is for the purpose of focusing on the plot line and the moral of the story.

Moving on to The Hidden Hand. This story pays very close attention to detail. Especially describing the setting. Multiple times throughout the story the setting is described in great detail. For example, on page 189... "You enter by the little wooden gate, pass up the moldering paved walk, between the old, leafless lilac bushes, and pass through the front door right into a large, clean but poor-looking sitting-room and kitchen." This is much more descriptive than what we have read in the past. This is leads me to believe that The Hidden Hand was more of the children IN literature. This story is way to descriptive for a young child. I even have trouble comprehending it at times. This definitely does not fall into the category of literature FOR children. At least not by my standards.