Reading from left to right and top to bottom is not a natural or intuitive process. The Chinese write top to bottom, and the Arabs write right to left. Like most community standards, it's completely arbitrary in and of itself, but it's necessary to have some standard we all agree to follow in order to communicate effectively.
Since your DD is only just beginning to read, she needs a chance to get used to the standard. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions there.
Flipping over a puzzle to make it more challenging is a very normal thing to do.
