May Hill Arbuthnot
Last Updated on June 7, 2022, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 101
Dorp Dead has the quality of a bad dream…. The realism of the beginning of the story occasionally fades into fantasy, but the plight of the boy, helpless for a time in the hands of a psychotic man, is startlingly real. This haunting story suggests that children in the grasp...
(The entire section contains 101 words.)
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Dorp Dead has the quality of a bad dream…. The realism of the beginning of the story occasionally fades into fantasy, but the plight of the boy, helpless for a time in the hands of a psychotic man, is startlingly real. This haunting story suggests that children in the grasp of cruel older people must put up stiff resistance if they are to survive. It is a memorable scare story that will give children chills up their backbones. (pp. 175-76)
May Hill Arbuthnot, in her Children's Reading in the Home (copyright © 1969 by Scott, Foresman and Company; reprinted by permission), Scott, Foresman, 1969.