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A Very Dairy Christmas | 
 enlarge | Author: Sylvia Hysen
Publisher: 1st Impression Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $16.47
You Save: $8.48 (34%)
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Rating:  10 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 312
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 1
ISBN: 0976336561
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780976336563
Publication Date: November 15, 2005
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
Books become classics when they appeal to all generations, and A Very Dairy Christmas manages to do just that in this heart-warming comedy about dysfunctional family relationships. With chapters like "There's no place like a stranger's home", "You don't need a farm to have a pig", and Redemption is a mouse click away", you'll be whisked away into the privileged, and often controversial, world of Callie Michaels, the teenaged daughter of famed high fashion photographer, Zoey Michaels. Be prepared to laugh and cry when social tolerance and generational differences are put to the test in this inspirational novel about a New York City pop-culture princess who is unexpectedly forced to visit her estranged German grandparents on their Wisconsin dairy farm during her Christmas vacation. A Very Dairy Christmas emphasizes the true meaning of Christmas in a present-day setting while delivering a message that is sure to inspire the reader!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
A Christmas Story that's Fun Any Day of the Year October 2, 2007
Fresh Facs Publishing
A Very Dairy Christmas is the story of teenaged Callie and her friends and their struggles growing up. On the surface that may sound like a very ordinary story line, but I can assure you that Callie's experiences are anything but ordinary. Callie and her posse live in a world of wealth and privilege. They attend a prestigious boarding school and enjoy all of the tangible benefits that financial security can offer. Even though she appears to have it all, self-assured Callie lacks the things that every young girl needs most--love, attention and the guidance of a caring parent. As a reknowned fashion photographer, Callie's mother travels the world and is often absent when her daughter needs her most. As a result, Callie has become demanding and self-absorbed and dominates her relationship with her friends.
A Very Dairy Christmas is truly the story of Callie's redemption. When her mother insists that she spend her Christmas vacation on her grandparents' dairy farm in Wisconsin, Callie is furious and does all that she can to make everyone around her as miserable as she is. However, through a series of funny and heart-tugging events, Callie comes to realize that giving to others can be very rewarding. When she turns her considerable intellect and resourcefulness to the good of others, her midwestern family and friends come to see a very different side of Callie.
As a former high school teacher, I found Callie to be a delightful character. Her evolution into a caring and compassionate person serves as an object lesson for young readers. I liked A Very Dairy Christmas so much that I included it in my educational resource A Novel Approach to Family and Consumer Science. Written to encourage reading across the currliculum, Callie's exploits developed into great classroom learning activities.
I highly recommended A Very Dairy Christmas! And though it's a great holiday read, don't wait for Christmas. Check it out today!
 Reviewed by Barb Radmore January 25, 2007
Front Street Reviews www.frontstreetreviews.com
Although this was released in November of 2005, the story in A Very Dairy Christmas is timeless. It deserves to be revisited every holiday to remind us of the possibilities for all of us - the possibility to change, the possibility to help. It is especially relevant during the holiday season to give us a nudge in the direction of giving something of ourselves, not just our pocketbooks.
As for pocketbooks, Callie has a large, designer one filled with credit cards. The daughter of a famous fashion photographer she is queen of her teen group, all girls at the very exclusive private school Ridgecrest Prep. She has it all, all except a close family. Her mother is usually off on fashion shoots and rarely has time for Callie. Her mother, Zoey, does not feel good about it but it is a situation she can not change. So they are both looking forward to the Christmas holidays and a promised ski trip together to Aspen. But at the last minute these plans change and Callie is forced to spend her vacation at her grandparents' dairy farm in Deer Creek, Wisconsin.
Callie's grandparents are very happy to finally have Callie back in their lives. As a child she spent many holidays there but after her father, their son, died Zoey cut off all contact. But Elsa and Johann are shocked by the attitude and behavior of the girl Callie has become. Since their feelings are not tempered by family love, their friends and farm workers are even more disgusted by Callie. They go out of their way to make life difficult for the rude, arrogant girl. It takes a reunion with her childhood friend Amanda, who is suffering from leukemia, for Callie to realize what a brat she had become. The fact that Amanda has a very attractive brother is an asset too. With help from her ever loving and patient grandmother, Callie works to mend friendships and find a mission in life. For her it is the discovery of the children's cancer ward at the local hospital. The story of how she meets their needs is the warm, touching story line in this feel good book.
This book is marketed as a teen book because of its teenage main character but it can certainly appeal to adults also. It is a also a fun book to read, filled with many comic moments that amuse and entertain. The author is able to take a serious subject and make it accessible to all readers.
Sylvia Hysen has used this book to promote Locks of Love, the nonprofit that collects long pieces of hair to make into wigs for children who would like them due to hair loss caused by a variety of diseases. She emphasizes not only the need for donors but also to get the word spread that this is available.
The author is planning a sequal "A Very Dairy Summer" where we hope to be reunited with Callie and her new found family.
Ridgecrest Prep to Michelsohn & Meyers Dairy May 24, 2006
Richard R. Blake (San Leandro, CA)
This is the story of Callie Michaels and her pals the ABC debutantes. It is a story of contrasting social acceptance and generational differences. It is a story of a teenager's desperate attempt at winning a parent's affection and attention. After years of separation from her estranged German grandparents, Callie is coerced to spend Christmas vacation with them on their Wisconsin dairy farm.
From the moment of her arrival Callie creates an atmosphere of conflict, resentment and attitude. Isolated and alone Callie is confronted with a sense of guilt as her grandfather recovers from a near death accident caused in part by her selfishness.
Reconnecting with a childhood friend, who is suffering from leukemia, Callie assesses her priorities as she tries to make amends with her grandparents. After visiting the children's oncology ward with her friend, "She thought about her life at Ridgecrest and compared it to Amanda's. All the things she and her friends considered important seemed so petty compared to having leukemia. And yet it didn't stop Amanda from helping others. Callie had never witnessed such altruism."
Sylvia Hysen is brilliant writer. She has incorporated, into the plot of this story, a touching message. Hysen introduced the work of "Locks of Love". This is an organization that provides children undergoing chemo-therapy treatments hair pieces, made from real hair. This hair is donated by concerned individuals. Callie sacrificed her long tresses to provide Amanda with a new sense of normalcy, dignity, and self confidence.
Callie's mother, Zoey, joined the family for Christmas day at the dairy farm. As healing gave birth to reconciliation Callie's mother saw a new maturity in her daughter. "Looking at her without the bias of a mother, she saw a beautiful, compassionate young woman."
Hysen kept a balance of conflict, compassion, and romance throughout the story. I hated to have it come to an end and am looking forward to the sequel. "A Very Dairy Summer" is due to come out soon. This novel is written for a young adult audience, however; the author's sensitivity to parent-teen relationships makes it a good read for parents of teens as well.
Top notch!
A Very Dairy Christmas March 24, 2006
Lilliana
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
You can't help but fall in love with the characters from A Very Dairy
> Christmas by Sylvia Hysen. It is heart warming to watch Callie Michael's
> dynamic character develop from a spoiled little rich girl to a generous
> caring teen. Callie leaves all her indulged comforts in the Big Apple
> to spend Christmas on a dairy farm in Wisconsin with grandparents she
> barely remembers. While she thinks she is heads above all the people she
> meets in Wisconsin the locals can't wait to see her leave. I appreciated
> the mishaps the farm hands played on Callie, she deserved them all and
> more. Despite how poorly she treats her grandparents and their friends,
> her grandparents stick by the girl they loved as a little girl and they
> give her time and opportunity to grow and come to her senses on her own.
> Just when you are ready to throw Callie out with dirty dishwater, she
> does a 180 degree turnaround and realizes that people from varied walks of
> life should be valued and respected. This story also has a just the
> right amount of romance. Casey is a handsome young boy that is connected
> to the grandfather's dairy farm. He definitely is a match for Callie and
> eventually she has to convince him to give her a chance. You can't help
> but fall in love with him.
> I think girls ages 12 - 15 would enjoy this book. I also enjoyed it and
> would recommend it to others.
>
> Lillian Armijo
> Reading Specialist
> Ranch View Middle School
Amusing and warming to the heart March 13, 2006
Reader Views (Austin, Texas)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Reviewed by Tammy Petty Conrad for Reader Views (3/06)
Teenager Callie lives a luxurious life bouncing between New York City and her prestigious prep school, but she's forced to spend her Christmas holiday with grandparents in Wisconsin whom she barely knows. She arrives with a chip on her shoulder having been disappointed by her over-achieving, guilt-ridden mother, Zoey, and makes sure that everyone is as miserable as she is.
But as in all entertaining books, twists and turns deliver a very different teen by the end as she learns valuable life lessons about the importance of family and friends. We also meet a variety of entertaining characters, from the farm hands that reminded me of those on the Wizard of Oz to Callie's outrageous friends. And we know exactly what kind of girl Callie is when the staff at Tiffany's knows her by her first name!
Admittedly, I didn't expect to enjoy this novel for several reasons. First I only read Christmas books in December. Second, designer and brand names are dropped right and left which makes it either more realistic or more like one big advertisement, depending on your perspective. And I'll confess I am many years removed from wearing a teenager's shoes. But I told myself each night just one more chapter, and then found I had read ten more before I put the book down. Ample dialogue and short chapters kept the story moving as it delved deeper and deeper into Callie's family history and that of a potential love interest and his family.
Sylvia Hysen is a screenwriter and this contemporary family comedy is an adaptation of her own award-winning screenplay. I can easily see how it would translate to film. Plenty of details make it a visual read. As a writer, I enjoyed learning how she took a personal interest in the Locks of Love organization, which uses donated ponytails to make hairpieces for ill children, and incorporated it into the story.
While we can't all relate to prep schools or dairy farms, most of us can understand family conflict and the importance of resolving it. It is always compelling to read abut a female character with brains, spunk and heart. A Very Dairy Christmas amuses and warms our hearts. And it's not just for the holidays either!
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