Sugar Creek Gang

Sugar Creek Gang is a series of 36 Christian-themed children's literature books written by Paul Hutchens. The original series is set near Thorntown, Indiana, and named for the nearby Sugar Creek, based upon the formative years of Paul and his six brothers, and chronicles adventure situations told from a faith-based didactic perspective. The first book, The Sugar Creek Gang, was published in 1940; the final installment, The Brown Box Mystery, appeared in 1970. During the 1950s, Hutchens received oral and written feedback from his readers "that they practically grew up on Sugar Creek books as their main reading diet during juvenile days." In 2001, Pauline Hutchens Wilson took over her father's books with the release of The Case of the Red Hot Possum as the first book in "The New Sugar Creek Gang" series.

Series description
According to Moody Publishing, the original series sold over three million print copies. The books are available in DVD, CD and audio versions. Radio dramatizations were produced by Northwestern College (now University of Northwestern) in St. Paul, Minnesota; these are broadcast daily as a segment of the afternoon Captain’s Club children's program on the Bible Broadcasting Network.

In 2004, the stories were made into a series of movies, directed by Joy Chapman and Owen Smith.

The Gang
"The Sugar Creek Gang" consists of six boys, and later an additional member was introduced. All the characters are Christians. The group listing is:


 * Bill
 * Bill Collins is the narrator of the series. He has red hair and freckles, and is 10 years of age in the first book. Bill is one of two members of the gang to have no nickname. His best friend is Poetry, and he is a single child at first, but later has a little sister named Charlotte Ann. His father, Theodore Collins, is a farmer, but Bill wants to be a doctor when he grows up. He is a very good Christian.


 * Poetry (Leslie Thompson)
 * Poetry is sometimes called "the barrel-shaped member of the gang" because he is very chubby. He always boasts about his detective abilities, and usually has a tent pitched in his backyard. His nickname is "Poetry", because he has memorized so many poems that he can quote one for almost any situation.


 * Dragonfly (Roy Gilbert)
 * Dragonfly is the skinniest and most allergic member of the gang. He usually sees things that are not there at all, or are there before the rest of the gang does. He is nicknamed "Dragonfly" because dragonflies have big eyes. He is also superstitious, probably because his mother is.


 * Little Jim (Jim Reynolds)
 * Little Jim is the youngest member of the gang, and he carries around a walking stick that he carved to look like a candy cane. He is a very good Christian, and also an excellent piano player.


 * Circus (Daniel Brown)
 * Circus has a beautiful singing voice, and has five sisters! He is nicknamed "Circus" because he has amazing athletic abilities, and can't resist climbing a tree or doing a cartwheel. His dad used to drink and was not a Christian, but eventually became one and changed his ways early in the series.


 * Big Jim
 * Big Jim is the leader of the gang, and is several years older than the rest of the gang. He grew up in another town, where he was in the Boy Scouts. He uses the skills he learned as a Scout to lead the gang well.


 * Tom
 * Tom Till is the newest member of the gang and the second member (after Bill) to have no nickname. He also looks a lot like Bill (for example, he also has red hair). He has a mean brother named Bob, and also a very mean father (John Till), and a very sweet mother. He used to be in a mean gang of boys with his brother Bob, but later switched sides.


 * Bob
 * Bob Till is Tom's mean older brother. He is not a Christian but Tom and the gang put out quite an effort to reach him. He often causes trouble for the gang.

New Sugar Creek Gang
"New Sugar Creek Gang" is a six-book series written by Pauline Hutchens Wilson, daughter of the original author, and Sandy Dengler. The "new gang" consists of five members: Bits, Tiny, Les, Lynn, and Mike.