Indian in the Cupboard (Collins Modern Classics)

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Cons: "problematic" is an understatement when it comes the ridiculous stereotypes *combined* with the whole "he's a real person, this has some basis in fact" things like the longhouse vs. teepee problem. Needless to say, I cringed during all the Little Bear parts. All across the USA, people are showing up dead. The deaths don't appear to be connected in any way until one particular death occurs and gets the Secretary of Defense's attention. He arranges for a task force to investigate. Boone and Ruby Lou realize they are stranded as tiny people in the far future, unable to return home without the key. They attempt to make a life with one another, eventually confessing their love. They are resigned to their fate, but long to return home and be properly married. Kids@Random | Catalog | The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks". www.randomhouse.com . Retrieved 18 February 2016. The Indian in the Cupboard (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. August 31, 1995 . Retrieved October 12, 2016.

Interesting book. Another of the Battle of the Books titles that I'm working my way through. I've never read it before, nor have I seen the movie.The Mystery of the Cupboard. Internet Archive. Paw Prints. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4395-5343-5. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: others ( link) Longsdorf, Amy (July 9, 1995). "Native American Rapper Becomes Warrior Against Film Stereotypes". The Morning Call . Retrieved October 10, 2020.

I read the Indian in the Cupboard years ago and it has long remained one of my favorite children's books. Imaginative and insightful, it provides a lesson without being preachy. Ohh I really enjoyed the original first story as a kid. So to revisit the characters was such fun. The 2nd and 3rd books in this trilogy were equally as entertaining. I had always wondered what would have happened if the story had continued and now I know. My main issue with it was that it has a very odd message. The point of the book seems to be to deconstruct the idea of the magical talking toy: these are real people with real emotions, needs, and desires. Little Bear is self-centered, violent, often in awe, at times magnaminous, but he is very much not a toy, and the point is made later in the book this transformation can easily have dire consequences. Omri does not have fun with him as opposed to having to be forced to care for him and deal with him, and the toys actually wound the boys a couple of times. Omri even starts to resent Little Bear's constant demands for meat, weapons, women, and power. After the battle in the last book, many tiny injured Iroquois remain in Omri's room under Matron's care. Matron is exhausted and at the end of her skills and strength. Boone is also badly injured. Omri decides to make a second attempt to steal Tamsin's plastic medical set, but is caught by Tamsin's sister Emma. Omri is forced to tell her about the key's magic power and the desperate situation in his bedroom. Emma agrees to borrow the medical set for him and to keep silent about the magic, on the condition that she be allowed to bring to life a plastic person of her own. By chance, the figurine she selects is that of Ruby Lou. Thanks to the toys Emma provides, Matron is able to get a surgical team that saves the Iroquois and Boone.Second, the adults were all pretty much presented as stupid or mean, except Omri’s mother. The portrayal of the teachers and headmaster, in particular, disgusted me. The whole school chapter was too much. The attitude towards school, learning, and authority was just plain bad. Banks was born in London, the only child of James and Muriel Reid Banks. She was evacuated to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada during World War II but returned after the war was over. She attended St Teresa's School in Surrey. Prior to becoming a writer Banks was an actress, and also worked as a television journalist in Britain, one of the first women to do so. Her first novel, The L-Shaped Room, was published in 1960. Roger Ebert of RogerEbert.com reviewed the film negatively, describing it as "not exhilarating or exciting or funny in the ways that E.T. was", and predicted that children would find the story "depressing". [13] Box office [ edit ]

Full of magic and appealing characters, this classic novel takes readers on a remarkable adventure. Litefoot was discovered after performing a rap concert in Rome organized by the American Indian College Fund, who recommended him to the producers. [5] When he joined the film, Litefoot convinced the filmmakers to hire an Onondaga adviser, Jeanne Shenandoah, [6] instead of the Mohawk adviser they had, and the adviser helped make his character Little Bear culturally authentic: "From the bottom of my feet to the top of my bald head, all the tattooing, the dropped earlobes, the leggings, the moccasins, were all Onondaga in 1761." [4] Each day of shooting, it took 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours to apply his tattoos with permanent markers. [5]The Indian in the Cupboard Novel Study Book Unit". Teachers Pay Teachers . Retrieved 28 March 2019. So on the one hand, what we have is actually quite a good story of a boy, his friend, the magic of toys and childhood – culminating in a somewhat poignant, if a little predictable ending; on the other – an undeniably racist portrayal of a Native American Indian / Iroquois, which is where the book ultimately falls down. On balance – what needs to be considered here is the ‘The Indian in the Cupboard’ is a product of the 1980’s and not perhaps the 1930’s, where such racial stereotyping (whilst not excusable) could have been viewed at least as a product of its time – ultimately a shame.

Overall, we all enjoyed this story. It still remains a favorite today. It has a satisfying ending, but it still provokes you to move right on to the next story. We plan on moving right along to the next book. What a fantastic re-read of a childhood classic. Flipping open this book again, the most surprising discovery was that Lynn Reid Banks was a British author! I had no idea, and I don't remember being 10 years old and realizing that, although the English turns of phrase are apparent upon re-read. In fact, no one was nice in this book—except, again, Omri’s mother, who sounds like a dreadfully exhausted woman with a terrible household to run. a b Davis, Sandi (July 9, 1995). "American Indian Actor Uses Role to Educate Others". The Oklahoman . Retrieved October 10, 2020. Omri receives a unique birthday present - a cupboard that his brother found. In conjunction with a beautiful key his mother had, Omri discovers that the key can magically transform any cupboard or trunk into a transmogrifier that turns plastic toys into tiny, flesh-and-blood humans.

It's an all right book in terms of writing and craft. While the book does have some elements of racism, it tends to be more unfortunate than premeditated, like The Scarlet Pimpernel. Some may also be our overreacting: the whole "me talks" thing gets pegged as racism a bit too much considering how hard it is for anyone not raised in multiple languages at birth to become as fluent in a second tongue as even a native small child. But there is an edge that might tweak the reader. This is a pretty profound deconstruction of the magical toy idea. Most of these books carry the idea of responsibility. In the movie version, you get this: the only line I really remember is Little Bear saying to Omri "You should not play with magic you do not understand." Magical toy stories usually involve some form of mischief from a child's toys (as an allusion to the mischief the child himself creates) which the child needs to stop as he acts in loco parentis. When the mischief is ended, and the toys behave, things return to normal. The child learns a bit of responsibility while reveling in the toy's actions vicariously.