My son is too young for this to be an issue for us yet, but my answer is that it depends. If your child is mature enough to handle the original, get the original. If too sensitive for the original, the abridged version may be a good start. If it is an abridged classic verses a Cosmopolitan magazine, I would prefer the abridged classic in my house. I read a number of abridged classics as a kid and once I read the original, I was hooked and didn't go back to the abridged versions. I did seek out more originals from some of the abridged ones I had already enjoyed.