Lynne Reid Banks' The Indian in the Cupboard is a delightful tale about magic, disappointment, and friendship. Nine-year-old Omri receives a little white medicine cupboard from his friend Patrick for his birthday. Upon opening it up in private, he meets a living Native American figurine named Little Bear. At first Omri believes he is crazy, but Little Bear continues to greet him every time he opens the cupboard door. Through their friendship, they both come to understand the legacy and heritage of the Native American tribes better. When Patrick hears about Little Bear, he brings over a cowboy figurine, Boone, who comes to life once placed in the cupboard. Boone and Little Bear fight constantly, eventually resulting in Boone being wounded, but Omri steps in with a medical figurine to save the day. Because of the danger and unpredictability of the situation, both Patrick and Omri take out their respective figurines and Omri gives the cupboard key to his mother for safekeeping.
This adventure is symbolic from start to finish. For Omri, this magical cupboard represents endless possibility. He wants the magic to be real so badly that he makes sacrifices in his social life to spend time with Little Bear. Through the fight between Boone and Little Bear, paralleled by his own conflict with Patrick, however, Omri learns that the people are more important magic. He decides to give up the magical cupboard in order to keep the toys safe and to spend more time with his friend, Patrick. It is a painful decision, however, which he makes only after lengthy deliberation.
The element of magic in this book represents Omri's desire to control his environment. He wishes magic to be possible and, for a second, believes he is powerful enough to have made it possible. Whether or not the toys actually come to life doesn't matter because Omri believes in it. Pretend is a healthy function of child psychology because it serves to help kids work through their emotional problems. For Omri, Little Bear's animation represents an opportunity to work through his relationship to conflict with friends. In the end he gives the cupboard keys to his mom because he has learned how to work through conflict successfully with Patrick, thanks to Boone and Little Bear.
