It was about a group of siblings whose father, I think, was a professor or suchlike, so they went to France for a year.
One of the kids was named George, and he collected rocks. Their governess (?) in France, an elderly woman who called George “Georges,” gave him a box of rocks, and the narrator pictured her out on the beach in the hot sun, tremblingly picking up each rock. Hilarity ensued when the governess picked up one of the “rocks” and bit into it – they were candy shaped like rocks.
There was also something about the quest for marshmallows, which may or may not have been connected to the above incident.
This particular book may or may not have been part of a group of books about these siblings.
Does this sound familiar to anyone?
Family Sabbatical by Carol Ryrie Brink?
“In this sequel to Family grandstand, the Ridgeways are now in France, where Professor Ridgeway is using his sabbatical to write a book on history, and where the three children experience many adventures and make new friends.” - Google books
Bingo! Thanks!
Reading the descriptions at Goodreads, one mentions the youngest daughter dropping her doll down an oubliette, which I also remember. (Seriously, how can you not love a kids book that involves an oubliette?)
I remember that book! I think they wanted the marshmallows for Halloween, and they ended up with some kind of candy that wasn’t quite like marshmallows, and they tried to toast them like marshmallows but that didn’t end well.
Yeah, right. But were the rocks candy – which were soft, once you bit into them – part of the marshmallow quest?