Friday, January 20, 2017

The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks



The Indian in the Cupboard was the January pick for the Kewaunee Youth Book Club.  I read this together with my middle son, Daniel, who is eight.  I had read this myself as a kid thirty years ago and it was enjoyable reading it again as an adult.

Omri gets a plastic Indian toy for his birthday which he receives with not much enthusiasm.  Things get better when he locks it in his cupboard with a key only to discover that the plastic toy has come alive and is Little Bull, an Iroquois brave.  Omri thinks this is cool at first, but soon discovers that Little Bull is not a toy, but an actual person who has had a life.  This makes life interesting as he tries to help him out to build a house, find food, etc. and things get distressing when his friend puts a cowboy into the cupboard and he comes to life as well.  Can Omri really keep a real live person as a toy?

Daniel really enjoyed this book and I did as well.  It was a good fantastical story.  I loved how Omri grew through the story and recognized that Little Bear was a person and tried to do what was best for him.  My ten year old son Kile also read it and did not enjoy it.  I think it’s because he wanted to read his Warrior Cat books and was disturbed it took away time from them.  Overall, a unique fantastical story that is very entertaining.

Book Source:  The Kewaunee Public Library

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