Sure, even Roald Dahl rewrote his stories to remove insensitive language. The key is he was the one that did it. It matters. Massively. And what makes these versions “obviously” new to a reader? How will they know it’s missing entire sentences?
> This seems very contrived to me. You are expecting children to read these books, ask why the moral is different, then have their parents tell them that the world changes, or derive that themselves?
Yes. Many books I read as a child in school had the language “of the day” in it and the teachers were clear to point out and discuss why we don’t see that language anymore. I came away more educated as to the injustices of the time the book was authored. If I had got an edited version without any indication that it was an edit, then I’m being deprived of that knowledge.