The Indian in the Cupboard

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The Indian in the Cupboard is a 1980 children's book written by British author Lynne Reid Banks. In the story, a young boy discovers that when he locks a toy plastic Indian in an old bathroom cupboard, the figure comes to life.

Contents 1 The Indian in the Cupboard (1980) 2 The Return of the Indian (1985) 3 The Secret of the Indian (1989) 4 The Mystery of the Cupboard (1992) 5 The Key to the Indian (1998) 6 Film adaptation

[edit] The Indian in the Cupboard (1980)

The boy, Omri, gets a cupboard from his brother for his birthday, that, if used in conjunction with a key that belonged to his Great-grandmother, brings the spirit of historical people forward in time, where they are imposed within plastic toys. Omri brings a plastic Indian figure to life, who turns out to be an Indian of the 19th century called Little Bear (although some renditions call him "Little Bull"). His best friend Patrick finds out about the magic cupboard. This leads to more trouble, when his friend Patrick brings a cowboy, Boone, into the present. Despite the fights and rivalries between the two tiny men, Patrick refuses to send them back until it is too late — Little Bear wounds Boone with an arrow while they are watching a television Western. Then the key goes missing, which means the boys cannot bring a World War I medic to life to treat Boone, and Omri's brother Gillon's pet rat escapes into the house. Little Bear, Patrick, and Omri manage to recover the key before the little men are lost to the rat's hunger, and Boone is cured.

Little Bear is a demanding character, and ultimately Omri must provide him with a bride, Bright Stars, with whom the tribal chief goes home to his own time.

[edit] The Return of the Indian (1985)

In this, Omri discovers that any container can be made magic if locked with the leaden key. He and Patrick not only bring back Little Bear, the cowboy Boone, Bright Stars, and the child which Bright Stars will give birth to, but also themselves travel back in time contemporaneous with Boone and Little Bear. When they discover that Little Bear's village is in danger, they send a number of twentieth-century firearms back to the village, which end up in the hands of several warriors.

In spite of gun-use training by the capable Sergeant Fickits (another plastic figure brought to life), the warriors destroy one another by the dozen. The battle turns out to require intensive care from yet another figure, a hospital matron (called Matron), to heal even a few of the wounded Indian warriors.

[edit] The Secret of the Indian (1989)

In the Secret of the Indian, Omri and Patrick find out a way to go back in time using a chest. Patrick ends up in Boone's time, but Boone is out cold. Patrick must find a way to survive.

[edit] The Mystery of the Cupboard (1992)

Omri and family move to the rural country, where they have inherited a house from the family of Jessica Charlotte Driscoll, Omri's "wicked" great-great aunt. There, Omri and Patrick learn the origin of the magic key and its history of time travel. The cupboard was created by Omri's great-uncle Freadrick, and the key by Driscoll, who was a clairvoyant, magician and dance-hall star in the early twentieth century. They learn about Jenny, Elsie, Bert, and numerous other historical plastic figures who have been moved in time, including Jessica Charlotte herself. Omri's interference with his own family history sets the stage for his first adventures. In the end, Omri's father finds out about the "little people" and is let in on their adventures.

[edit] The Key to the Indian (1998)

Omri and his father have to help Little Bear in a dire time of need, so they do. They work out all kinds of problems along the way (for example, finding something to transport them in and getting around Omri's mom). Little Bear's people are threatened with annihilation by American colonists; can twentieth-century British allies help them - or should they even try?

[edit] Film adaptation

• The Indian in the Cupboard was made into a movie in 1995.