The Indian in the Cupboard
core novel 1980 The Indian in the Cupboard
Record
| First published | 1980 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.94 (110,581 ratings, collected 2026-11-02) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780460069922 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
On his ninth birthday Omri receives a plastic toy Indian from his friend Patrick and an old white metal cupboard from his brother. He locks the figure inside with a key that belonged to his great-grandmother. The next morning the toy has turned into Little Bear, a living Iroquois man only three inches tall, who is proud, short-tempered and at first takes Omri for a god. Omri must find food, shelter and clothing for a tiny man from another century, and he begins to read about the Iroquois to understand him. Before long Patrick learns the secret and brings a toy cowboy to life, and the two small men are enemies from the first moment.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Indian in the Cupboard
- Series: The Indian in the Cupboard core; position 1 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Lynne Reid Banks
Awards (verified)
- Pacific Northwest Young Readers' Choice Award, 1983: won
- California Young Reader Medal, 1985: won
- Virginia Young Readers Program Award, 1987: won
- Massachusetts Children's Book Award, 1988: won
- Arizona Young Readers' Award, 1989: won
- Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award, 1988: nominated
Notes
- From the series record (The Indian in the Cupboard): Five children's fantasy novels about a boy, a magic cupboard and the toy figures it brings to life.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series The Indian in the Cupboard: position 1 of 5: next The Return of the Indian (1986)
Sources
← The Indian in the Cupboard dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.