Sugar Creek Gang #12
Four years ago when my kids were 6 and 7, I began reading to them the Sugar Creek Gang series, books 1-4. We took a break from them in favor of the Tintin books (I believe) and never returned, but now that we’re back in the U.S. with church libraries available, I figured we’d try them out again. The next available book in the series was this Book 12, so while it’s still technically in order, we’ve skipped a bunch.
There’s no getting around the fact that Hutchens’ writing flows. He’s easy to read aloud, because he writes like a kid must have spoken back in the 40s, and it just works—even if that’s not how kids speak today.
This book starts off mysteriously and drew my kids right in, though the “mystery” was actually just a friend’s creative way of inviting them out to go camping, and so the majority of the book is about that, their trip up to the lake and the fun things they got to do. Only towards the end did the Screams in the Night portion of the adventure really take place, and while the crime of a kidnapped girl certainly makes for some intense reading, it was nothing more than a subplot in a book of collected subplots. It read well but it’s not a book that will stick in anyone’s memory.
As a Christian author strategically aiming his books towards young boys, Hutchens fits many things into his books that you might not find elsewhere. He has lessons in nature (like one boy musing on the scientific facts of a plant they pass). He has safety warnings (like about the importance of wearing lifejackets). He’s got encouragements towards literature and learning (like the boy who constantly quotes poems he’s memorized). And he’s got spiritual reminders of prayer and Christian living (like the testimonies they might share around the fire). All this makes for an adventure series that kids can actually learn from (if they’re paying attention) and one that a parent need never worry that they’re reading.
Because Screams in the Night didn’t have a consistent adventure story that my kids could cling to, I don’t think they’re yearning for the next in line. Still, it reminded me of Hutchens’ style and gives me a nice place to look next time we need a slight detour in our reading habits. I’m glad we took this break.
©2023 E.T.
Read More from The Sugar Creek Gang:
- #1 The Swamp Robber (1940)
- #2 The Killer Bear (1940)
- #3 The Winter Rescue (1940)
- #4 The Lost Campers (1941)
- #8 The Palm Tree Manhunt (1944)
- #10 The Mystery Thief (1946)
- #12 Screams in the Night (1947)