Contemporary Nigerian children's literature is often evaluated according to the moral lessons it teaches or the cultural identities it represents. While these concerns remain important, they can overshadow the artistic qualities that distinguish literature from other forms of writing. This article introduces the concept of the Authenticity Trap to explain how pedagogical expectations and demands for culturally recognisable representations shape the evaluation of Nigerian children's literature. Drawing on René Wellek and Austin Warren's theory of intrinsic criticism alongside Martin Heidegger's understanding of art as the disclosure of truth, the article argues that literary criticism should begin with the aesthetic qualities of the text before considering its educational or cultural value. Using Nnedi Okorafor's Ikenga (2020) as a case study, the article demonstrates how the novel combines indigenous cosmology, speculative fiction, urban experience, and psychological depth to challenge conventional expectations of children's literature. It proposes the Aesthetic Autonomy Model, built on narrative autonomy, experiential authenticity, and ethical openness, as a framework for evaluating contemporary Nigerian children's literature. The article concludes that children's literature achieves its greatest ethical and cultural significance through artistic freedom rather than through predetermined moral or representational expectations. Keywords: Nigerian children's literature, Authenticity Trap, aesthetic autonomy, intrinsic criticism, Nnedi Okorafor, Ikenga