Family Sabbatical (Nancy Pearl's Book Crush Rediscoveries) - Softcover

The Ridgeway family takes on France in this delightful story from Newbery Medal winner Carol Ryrie Brink.

Professor Ridgeway is on sabbatical in the South of France—and the whole family is along for the adventure. Susan has brought her diary to document their vacation fun, but Dumpling isn’t convinced that France can compete with their house with the tower back in Midwest City. She’s brought along her doll, Irene, as her little piece of home. George is just happy to have some new terrain to search for rocks. As the Ridgeways settle in, they find out that a real, live princess is staying at their hotel. But who could she be? While they search for the princess, they also begin studying French with their stern tutor, Mademoiselle—but isn’t it more fun teaching her some not-so-proper English? And as Halloween and Thanksgiving roll around, the Ridgeway children decide to show France a little bit of what these holidays mean back home in America—with some unexpected results! France will never be the same after the Ridgeways come to visit!

Carol Ryrie Brink (1895–1981) was an American author of more than thirty books for children and adults. She is widely known for her novel Caddie Woodlawn, which won the 1936 Newbery Medal, the award given to the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children in a given year. Carol grew up in Idaho and later attended the University of Idaho. She transferred to the University of California, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1918. She married that same year and settled with her husband in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where they lived for more than forty years and had two children. Brink’s first novel, Anything Can Happen on the River, was published in 1934. Three of Brink’s children’s books are included in the Book Crush Rediscoveries series: Family Grandstand (1952), Family Sabbatical (1956), and The Highly Trained Dogs of Professor Petit (1953).

Nancy Pearl is a librarian and lifelong reader. She regularly comments on books on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. Her books include 2003’s Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason; 2005’s More Book Lust: 1,000 New Reading Recommendations for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason; 2007’s Book Crush: For Kids and Teens; Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Interest; and 2010’s Book Lust To Go: Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds, and Dreamers. Among her many awards and honors are the 2011 Librarian of the Year Award from Library Journal, the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, the 2010 Margaret E. Monroe Award from the Reference and User Services Association of the American Library Association, and the 2004 Women’s National Book Association Award.