"Interview with Scott O'Dell." Psychology Today (January 1968). Focuses upon O'Dell's views on the nature of the juvenile reader.

Townsend, John Rowe. A Sense of Story: Essays on Contemporary Writers for Children. New York: Lippincott, 1971.

Contains a book-by-book discussion of O'Dell and his sources for fiction.

The essay considers The Black Pearl as a minor work.

Wittle, Justin, and Emma Fisher. The Pied Pipers. New York: Paddington, 1974. Includes an extended interview with O'Dell, dealing primarily with his opinions on bringing up children today.