The return of the Indian

Review by Booklist Review

Gr. 5-7. With the turn of a key, Omri brought his three-inch-high plastic Indian figure to life in The Indian in the Cupboard. Now, more than a year later, the boy reinstitutes the magic. To his horror, Omri discovers that his friend Little Bear has been wounded in the French and Indian War and desperately needs his assistance. Omri, his chum Patrick, and Bright Stars, Little Bear's wife, use all their ingenuity to mend the injured warrior. They are eventually successful and when Little Bear goes back for the great battle, Omri devises a way to observe the momentous occasion, which nearly costs him his life. Banks conjures up a story that is both thoughtful and captivating and interweaves the fantasy with care and believability. A strong but not obtrusive antiwar message is included, which the author subtly juxtaposes with Omri's real-life concerns about some neighborhood bullies. The conclusion, in which Banks connects the real and the fantasy worlds, is smoothly and cleverly accomplished. An adventure sure to have high appeal. BE. Indians of North America Fiction / Toys Fiction / Magic Fiction [OCLC] 85-31119

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In this sequel to the acclaimed The Indian in the Cupboard, Omri decides to see Little Bear again and turns the key that brings the three-inch toy to life. Ages 8-12. (October) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 5-7 A little over a year has passed since Omri's adventures with a cupboard that could magically bring plastic toys to life. Excited by a prize he won for a story about his adventures with the cupboard, Omri wants to share the news with Little Bear. His joy evaporates when he activates the cupboard and finds a critically wounded Little Bear. Omri and his friend Patrick find and bring to life a small plastic nurse who saves Little Bear, but the tiny Iroquois chief is determined to return to his village, which is under attack from the French. Unsure of what to do, the boys assemble an army of plastic Indians and equip them with modern machine guns. The Indians are devastated, and Little Bear, depressed by his failure, withdraws until he learns of his new son and of Omri's successful story. This is a wonderful sequel, beautifully recreating the magic of the original while adding a darker thread of reality. Banks' rich style brings all of the characters to life. Readers experience the boys' delight in their creation as it is tempered by the realization that their casual actions are having drastic results on real people who have magically become living toys. Of course this is a fantastic situation, but Banks manages to validate it with her realistic details and believable emotions. Highly recommended for fantasy readers and adventure lovers, but be sure that they have read The Indian in the Cupboard (Doubleday, 1981) first. Anne Connor, Los Angeles Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

In a sequel to The Indian in the Cupboard (1980), Omri and Patrick again invoke miniature people from the past by bringing plastic figures to life, and return with Little Bear to the French and Indian War. The first book had a fine balance between childish desire to play with the tiny figures and awareness that, though small, they were real people who ought not to be so manipulated. This is darker, the problems grimmer. Patrick and his mother have moved away from an abusive father, Omri to a neighborhood threatened by bullies and thieves. Little Bear is now a chief, embroiled in war, for which be seeks weapons to save his village. Patrick is still the enthusiast barging ahead in a good cause; more cautions, Omri helps gather an army of braves. The rescue mission is a tragic partial success: riding in a circle, many of the new recruits accidentally wound and kill one another. Meanwhile Little Bear's son is born; the return of the little family to their own time without the modern guns is a gesture toward life and peace. Feisty, likable characters and the precise logic by which Banks evolves events from her premises make this one of the better recent fantasies. Readers, enjoying the action and adventure, may also ponder its moral dilemmas. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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1   A Defeat     Omri emerged cautiously from the station into Hove Road.   Someone with a sense of humor and a black spray can had recently added an L to the word "Hove" on the street sign on the corner, making it "Hovel Road." Omri thought grimly that this was much more appropriate than "Hove," which sounded pleasantly like somewhere by the sea. Omri would have liked to live by the sea, or indeed almost anywhere in the world rather than Hovel Road. He had done his best to understand why his parents had decided to move here from the other house in the other, much nicer, neighborhood.  True, the new house was larger, and so was the garden. But the area was a slum.   Omri's father objected strongly to Omri's calling it a slum. But then, he had a car. He didn't have to walk half a mile along Hovel Road to the station every day, as Omri did to get to school, and again--as now--to get home in the gloomy afternoon. It was October and the clocks had gone back. That meant that when he came out of the station it was practically dark.   Omri was only one of many children walking, playing or hanging around in Hovel Road at this hour, but he was the only one who wore school uniform. Of course he took his blazer and tie off in the train and stuffed them into his schoolbag, but that still left his white shirt, black trousers and gray pullover. However he mussed them up, he still stood out among the others he had to pass through.   These others all went to a local school where uniform was not required. Under other circumstances, Omri would have begged his parents to let him change schools. At least then he wouldn't have been an obvious outsider. Or maybe he would. He couldn't imagine going to school with these kids. After a term and a half of running the gauntlet of their mindless antagonism every working day, he regarded them as little better than a pack of wolves.   That group waiting for him on the corner by the amusement arcade. He knew them by now, and they knew him. They waited for him if they had nothing better to do. His passing seemed to be one of the highlights of their day. Their faces positively lit up asthey saw him approach. It took all his courage to keep walking towards them.   At moments like this, he would remember Little Bear. Little Bear had been only a fraction of Omri's size, and yet he had stood up to him. If he had felt scared, as Omri did now, he never showed it. Omri was not that much smaller than these boys. There were just so many of them, and only one of him. But imagine if they'd been giants, as he was to Little Bear! They were nothing but kids like himself, although several years older. Except that they weren't like him. "They're rats," he thought, to rouse himself for battle. "Pigs. Toads. Mad dogs." It would be shameful to let them see he was afraid of them. He gripped his schoolbag tightly by both handles and came on.   If only he had had Boone's revolver, or Little Bear's knife, or his bow and arrows, or his ax. If only he could fight like a cowboy or an Indian brave! How he would show that crew then!   The boy he had to pass first was a skinhead, like several of the others. The cropped head made him look somehow animal-like. He had a flat, whitish face and about five gold rings in one ear. Omri should have detoured a bit to be out of range, but he would not swerve from his path. The skinhead's boot shot out, but Omri was expecting that and skipped over it. Then a concerted movement by the others jerked Omri into evasive action. Speed was his only hope. He broke into a run, hampered by his heavy bag.   Several hands reached out to grab him as he passed. One caught and held fast. He swung the bag and it hit home. The boy released his hold, doubled over and said, "Uuoogh!" It reminded Omri of the time Little Bear had foug Excerpted from The Return of the Indian by Lynne Reid Banks All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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