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"Beaten" exaggerates what happens, which according to the book is a single "spank" by a smiling man holding what appears to be a slender reed.

Yeah, I've been reading it to the kids recently.

I misread "beaten" as "eaten" the first time, and was shocked at the "different attitude about corporal punishment", then even further shocked when I read that he was happy to go home, until I got to the final word...

Yeah, what you describe sounds more like The Story of Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Which, though terrifying, could also be pretty funny in the right hands. (Terry Gilliam)

In addition the illustrations (in the original older editions at least) would probably not be considered politically correct these days. They show Chinese people as the typical 1930's "Chinaman" depiction which many might find slightly insulting today.