Hm - v. nice, with some funny bits, some touching bits, but mainly just, eh, pleasant. In my opinion. I will say it reads like a fictionalized memoir -- and when I looked at the back I found out that it is that, indeed. I probably would have loved this as a child, as it's such a happy family story, with the touch of the exotic as a bonus. But most kids need more drama, at least these days.

I'm not surprised it's not been kept in print. I am surprised that it's so expensive to buy used -- so I owe a big thank you to my GR friend who let me read her copy! ( )

This book was as Susan would say, "Suburp!". I liked it even better than Family Grandstand. I wish there were more of this family's adventures. I really liked the characters and how they got along together. I recognized the "godmother" turned princess early on, but that didn't spoil the story at all and I don't think children would notice as I did. This would be a great one for our Vintage Book Circle if we could get enough copies. Thanks, Ginny for the recommendation. ( )

The Ridgeways, that endearingly quirky mid-western family consisting of history-loving Professor Ridgeway, mystery-writing Mrs. Ridgeway, sensible eldest daughter Susan, animal-loving middle child (and only son) George, and precocious Dumpling, with her grave pronouncements, whose story began in Family Grandstand, return in this second novel devoted to their adventures, finding themselves in France while Prof. Ridgeway is on sabbatical. Opening in Cannes, where the family are ensconced at The Grand Hotel Majestic et de l'Universe - christened "The Grand Hotel and So Forth and So Forth" by Mrs. Ridgeway - Family Sabbatical follows the irrepressible Ridgeway siblings as they corrupt their French governess Miss Beauregard's beautiful dictionary-derived English, befriend the elderly Princess Adelaide Louisa von Mettnock-Hohenwürtzel, and, once in Paris, attend a French school.

Many of the same qualities that made these characters appealing in the first book - Susan's sensible mothering, George's passion for collecting (rocks, in this case), and Dumpling's devotion to her doll Irene - were also to be seen here, as was the general family love that makes the Ridegway family's adventures such a pleasure to read. Apparently these two books were based on Carol Ryrie Brink's own family life - her husband was a professor at a midwestern university, and the entire family spent some time in France on sabbatical - and that authenticity really came through, I thought These are fictional characters, but one feels that they could be real. I liked the Ridgeways' democratic, American sensibilities - the fact that they were comfortable socializing with all kinds of people - and I appreciated their openness to new cultural experiences. I could have happily lived without the Thanksgiving scene with the "Indian" dancing, but leaving that aside, this was a very enjoyable read. Recommended to young readers (or older ones) who enjoy heart-warming family stories! ( )

I had read "Baby Island" many years ago but hadn't realized that she had written anything else. This was cute. It is the story of an American family with three kids, Susan, George and Dumpling who go to France for six months because their parents are writing books. They spend part of the book in Cannes and then go to Paris.

For a book that is set in France there isn't much set up for that. I mean the family interacts with French people and have an unfortunate governess Mademoiselle but really the book could have been set in any country outside the US with a few minor changes. It is very much the story of the three children and their adventures. Yes it does take place in the 1950s. The advantage of course is that since the author doesn't go into great details about France and the French she does manage to avoid offensive racial stereotypes. This is not always true in books of this time so that was quite nice.

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Very sweet book about a family that lives in France while the father is on sabbatical. ( )