some classics have been around so long that nobody but kids notice that, sadly, they are classics no longer. this is completely not the case with alice. i love it, it is timeless, and i appreciate it on a new level every time i read it.
Alice is a good role model for younger kids because she has quick thinking and she is smart and although sometimes she gets into trouble (like scaring the mouse) she overall is a good and well-behaved child. As for violence: The Queen Of Hearts often shouts "Off with his head!" or "Off with her head!" although apparently it means nothing, because no one's head ever gets cut off. Another violent aspect, although not too violent, is that in the game of croquet, they use flamingos and hedgehogs, which I think is not a good way to play at all. The duchess throws her baby around in such a way that it violently screams and turns into a pig. But overall, most of the characters like the eccentric and well-witted Cheshire Cat to the violent, short-tempered Queen Of Hearts, this book is a classic that everyone will enjoy.
As a kid I really loved this book and it's sequal "Through the Looking Glass". It's the wimsey and surrealism that have always attracted me to these books, I just read them recently and really enjoyed them and I'm 20. Have your kid read the ones with the original art because those are the best. I'd also recomend reading "The Phantom Tollbooth."