I agree, with a caveat (see my answer to d-equivalence): In Undergraduate level for example, I think it would be useless to look for harder material for no other reason than the very fact it is hard. The person still has to learn the basics and that's the most important thing. Challenges are yet to come.

But, I agree that the material can be boring and too basic. This is why I have always preferred Soviet books (they get directly to the point and don't address stuff you should know) vs. US books (that will go back to high-school level to bring you up to speed, after which you want to sleep). Generalisation, of course.