Amazon.com Review
It all started with Lynne Reid Banks's
The Indian in the Cupboard, the enchanting, suspenseful story of toy figures brought to life through the magic of a cupboard and a special key. Three sequels followed this popular novel--
The Return of the Indian,
The Secret of the Indian, and
The Mystery of the Cupboard--and
The Key to the Indian is next in line. At first Omri was alone with his secret of the toy figures and the surprising appearance of the 18th-century Iroquois Little Bear. One day, however, his father finds the figures in his son's room, and locks them in the special cupboard: "Of course they'd come to life inside, and his dad had put a lot of twos and twos from the past together, and
realized. And later he'd seen them, been introduced to them. And accepted it.... It took a special kind of grownup not only to accept magic when he saw it but to promise and swear that he'd never, ever tell a living soul." What Omri and his father both now know about is the terrible plight of the Iroquois people during the 18th century--and that Omri's new friend Little Bear is in urgent need of help. Father and son attempt to travel back in time... but things go horribly wrong. They persist for the sake of Little Bear, but at great risk. With history, magic, humor, and all the surprising twists readers have come to expect from Banks,
The Key to the Indian will absorb young readers through the very last page. (Ages 9 and older)
From Publishers Weekly
Only die-hard fans will want to enter this fifth series installment of the adventures that began with The Indian in the Cupboard. Newcomers will find it too confusing to penetrate (the artful little synopses at the beginning notwithstanding) and casual admirers of the series may decide that Banks has finally stretched her premise too thin. Now that Omri's father is privy to the time-traveling secrets of Omri's cupboard and to the magic that brings his toys to life, he eagerly joins Omri on life-threatening adventures and keeps their activities a secret from the rest of the family. He wants to help Omri keep their promise to the Indian toy-cum-18th-century-Mohawk-chief Little Bear to help lead his tribe to safety in the face of threats from the treacherous English. First, however, they have to solve various logistical problems?like getting another magic key to the past. Banks strews the plot with red herrings and dead ends, and the most interesting questions?namely, how to help Little Bear?are watered down with easily solved dilemmas (e.g., Dad is worried about the effects of tampering with the past, but all he finally has to do is read up on Mohawk history and tell Little Bear the best alternative). A few other 11th-hour disclosures suggest an end to the series; indeed, this soil has been farmed too long. Ages 8-12.
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