History Literature / SugarCreekGang

* BraidsOfAction: Circus is seen with braided hair in all five movies.
** In the second half of the third movie, however, she lets her hair hang loose.
* DeepSouth: The setting.
* DoesNotLikeShoes: These kids don't, seriously. In the movies, the girl likes them less than the boys do.
** She also seems to have the magical ability to instantly switch back and forth between bare feet and fully laced shoes with socks several times in the same scene.
* FreeRangeChildren

* KidDetective: The gang solves one mystery per novel.
** The same goes for the movie-verse.

* SheCleansUpNicely: In the third movie, when Circus gets dressed up for the town revival.
* SiblingTeam:
** Circus and Dragonfly are twins in the movies.
** Big Bob and Tom Till, at least until Tom switches alliances.

* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: Circus doesn't seem to mind wearing a frilly, bright pink dress in the third movie.

* TheChick: Circus. In the movies, she's the only girl in the gang.

* SiblingTeam: Circus and Dragonfly are twins in the movies.

* DarkSkinnedRedhead: Shorty Long has red hair in the movies, and tanned skin from running around outside all the time.

* KidDetective

* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Movie Circus is the only girl in the gang.

* ShipTease: Circus with Bill Collins in the last movie.

* SheCleansUpNicely: In the third movie, Circus gets all dressed up for the town revival.

* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Played straight in the movies with Circus.

* TheChick: Circus, in the movies only. She's the only girl in the gang.
* DarkSkinnedRedhead: In the movies, Shorty Long has red hair and tanned skin from hanging out outside all the time.

* OneOfTheBoys: Circus's character, in the movies. She loves climbing trees, doesn't mind getting dirty, and can scuffle with the boys.

* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Played straight in the movies.

* GenderFlip: To add a girl to the cast, the movies take Circus, one of the boys in the gang, and turn him into a girl.

* OneOfTheBoys: Definitely Circus, in the movies. This trope is taken [[GenderFlip literally]] in the books.

The Christian references are toned down considerably in the movies, either to make them less preachy or to make them more enjoyable to a non-Christian audience. The movies also take one of the boy characters and [[GenderFlip turn him into a girl]], to add a girl to the cast.

* GenderFlip: Played straight in the movies. Circus becomes a girl and acts tomboyish and tough.

* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: Circus doesn't seem to mind wearing a bright pink dress in the third movie.

* DarkSkinnedRedhead: In the movies, Shorty Long is a redhead with tanned skin.

* SiblingTeam: There are a few in the gang.

The Christian references are toned down considerably in the movies, either to make them less preachy or to make them more enjoyable to a non-Christian audience. The movies also take one of the boy characters and instead make him a girl, to add a girl to the cast.

* TheChick: Circus. In the [=DVDs=] only. She's the only girl in the gang.

* GenderFlip: Circus becomes a girl in the movies. And acts tomboyish and tough.

* TheChick: Circus. In the [=DVDs=] only.
* Dark-SkinnedRedhead: In the movies, Shorty Long is a redhead with tanned skin.

* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Played straight in the movies. Circus is the only girl in the gang.

* TheChick: In the [=DVDs=] only, Circus, a boy, becomes a girl. And acts tomboyish and tough.

Children's book, radio, and DVD series about a group of kids who live near Sugar Creek in Indiana, who solve mysteries and go on adventures. Originally started in 1939, and still sold today. Very Christian in theme, with many overt references to Jesus, the Bible, and (the Christian) God coming from the characters' dialog and internal monologue. Despite that, the actual stories themselves are a mix between SliceOfLife and "HardyBoys in a rural setting" than anything else, and play out like kids' adventures that just happen to have lots of Christian references.

** She also seems to have the [[SarcasmMode magical ability]] to [[TheyJustDidntCare instantly switch back and forth between bare feet and fully laced shoes with socks several times in the same scene]].

[[quoteright:263:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sugar_creek_gang_resized.jpg]]

[[quoteright:520:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tvt-sgc.jpg]]

* TheChick - In the [=DVDs=] only, Circus, a boy, becomes a girl. And acts tomboyish and tough.
* DeepSouth - The setting.
* DoesNotLikeShoes - These kids don't, seriously. In the movies, the girl likes them less than the boys do.

* SiblingTeam - There are a few in the gang.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tvt-sgc.jpg

Not to be confused with the [[Music/TheSugarHillGang Sugar ''Hill'' Gang]].

Not to be confused with the Sugar ''Hill'' Gang.

* UnfortunateImplications - It's implied in many of the books that non-Christians are either bad people, or people with serious issues.
** For example, when the gang rescues a kidnapped 5-year-old who was BoundAndGagged and wrapped in a blanket, the narrator (one of the gang) says "there are some people in this world who have no respect for God or people."
** On the "people with issues" side, one latecomer to the gang is said to be angry and mean to people before he converts to Christianity, due to having not been raised Christian and having an atheist father.
* ValuesDissonance - The treatment of girls and some racist elements show the time the books were written. This could be one reason a tomboyish girl was added in the movies.
** One "of-the-times" example of this is [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sugar_creek_gang_-_stupid_sexism_3133.jpg here]].

* FairForItsDay - Kindness towards the disabled was a theme in some of the books, putting them a little ahead of their time. Also, one of the boys learns the hard way that girls aren't all the gender stereotype he'd assumed they were (in this case, easily grossed out and frightened of bugs).

* TheChick - In the {{DVDs}} only, Circus, a boy, becomes a girl. And acts tomboyish and tough.

** And thus gets a lot of FootFocus, including one scene that starts with an extreme close-up of her bare feet as she walks across a log in one of the movies.