Stay audiobook

This is so much more than a feel good dog story. Readers will learn about being homeless, having mental illness and dog shelters. All of this is included in this new novel by Bobbie Pyron. An amazing story that tells it like it is and brings resolution without having to suspend reality. Outstanding!Thank you to Katherine Tegen Books and Edelweiss for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Readers from 4th grade through adults who love MG will sigh with satisfaction after turning that last page of this 2020-2021 Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee. Bobbie Pyron tackles the tough issues of homelessness and mental illness and softens them with a dog and a girl who both have a heart for people. Those who have looked with disdain at people holding signs on the corner begging for food or kids who are living in shelters will hopefully gain a little empathy and compassion for folks who are down on their luck and a whole lot of gratitude for what they have. "Stay" is written from two perspectives--5th grader and recently homeless Piper, and Baby, treasured pet of Jewel, who is also homeless and suffers from bipolar disorder. Their distinct voices will make any ELA teacher happy to use this book during writing and reading lessons and lend a unique spin on the story's telling that students and teachers will all appreciate. And while the conclusion ties up one situation happily, Pyron does not fix all the problems for the book's characters. She does, however, leave those reading and those in the book with a clear sense of HOPE. Who could ask for anything more? I can clearly see a book display with "Stay" alongside O'Connor's "How to Steal a Dog," Bauer's "Almost Home," Applegate's "Crenshaw," and DiCamillo's "Louisiana's Way Home." Highly recommended with no content notes on profanity, violence or sexual content. Those looking for diversity in characters will be pleased that the residents in the park and the homeless shelter come from a variety of backgrounds although race is only clearly spelled out once.

ENGLISH VERSION BELOW--------------------------Aktuell habe ich ein Talent dafür mir Kinderbücher auszusuchen, die emotional aufgeladen sind. So auch "Solange wir zusammen sind", ein wunderschönes Kinderbuch, aber man muss auch in der passenden Stimmung sein. Es geht um Piper, die mit ihrer Familie (Mutter, Vater, kleiner Bruder), zwei Koffern, einer Umhängetasche und zwei Kinderucksäcken knapp vor Wintereinbruch in einer amerikanischen Großstadt per Fernbus ankommt. Die Familie hat ihr Zuhause und im Grunde ihr gesamtes Dasein verloren und zieht in eine geschlechtergetrennte Notunterkunft, kurz darauf zumindest in eine Familienunterkunft. Die Tage bestehen aus Schlangestehen und Warten, Anstehen für Essen, Anstehen für die Waschmaschine, Anstehen beim Sozialamt, Ansehen beim Jobcenter, …Die Hoffnung ist am Tiefpunkt. In einer dieser Schlangen lernt Piper eine ältere Dame kennen, die ihr erlaubt ihren Hund, Baby, zu streicheln, da es einem dann sofort ein wenig besser geht. Baby ist der Art Gegenspieler zu Piper. Einzelne Kapitel sind aus Babys Sicht geschrieben und erzählen den Leser*innen, dass die ältere Dame Jewel heißt, obdachlos ist und im Krankenhaus landet, wohin Baby natürlich nicht mit darf. Baby und Jewel haben in einem Park gelebt, welcher sich in der Nähe der Familienunterkunft befindet, in welcher Piper mit ihrer Familie lebt, weswegen Piper Baby im Park trifft und wiedererkennt. Dabei freundet sie sich auch mit einer anderen obdachlosen Frau und deren Hund an, was ein einzigartiger Erzählstrang war, da die Gespräche, die rund um die Obdachlosigkeit, das Leben auf der Straße und Baby und Jewel geführt werden, einen Einblick in diese Welt geben und zum Nachdenken anregt. Piper beschließt, sie muss Baby helfen und ihn mit Jewel wieder zusammen führen. Schlussendlich geht es im Buch auch darum, wie es Piper schafft, dafür zu sorgen, dass Jewel im Krankenhaus, den Respekt erhält, der jedem Menschen gebührt, Baby wieder zu ihr zu bringen und den beiden ein anderes Leben, weg von der Straße, zu ermöglichen. Die Idee wie Piper das alles angeht, hat mir gut gefallen. Die Figuren haben mir gefallen, auch die anderen Kinder, die in der Familienunterkunft leben und sich mit Piper anfreunden. Es gibt ein paar wenige Szenen in der Schule, die ich auch ganz besonders fand, da hätte ich mir mehr davon gewünscht, mehr wären jedoch für die Geschichte nicht notwendig gewesen. Es gibt auch einen innerfamiliären Konflikt, dieser steht aber nicht im Fokus, sondern läuft im Hintergrund mit. Es wäre auch zu viel gewesen, diesen noch detaillierter in dieses Buch zu packen. Das Buch gibt Einblick in Themen, die sonst nicht so häufig Eingang in die KJL finden, wie Obdachlosigkeit oder Notunterkünfte, aber auch darin, dass deine Wohnsituation nichts darüber aussagt, wer du bist und dass man auch, wenn man wenig hat, Großes bewirken kann.Fazit: Ein schönes Buch, emotional jedoch nicht die leichteste Lektüre, es ist es jedoch wert, gelesen zu werden.----------------------------------------------------I currently have a talent for choosing children's books that are emotionally charged. Such is the case with "Solange wir zusammen sind" (sorry, I didn´t know the english title), a beautiful children's book, but you also have to be in the right mood. It's about Piper, who arrives in a big American city by long-distance bus with her family (mother, father, little brother), two suitcases, a shoulder bag and two children's backpacks just before winter sets in. The family has lost their home and basically their entire existence and moves into a gender-segregated emergency shelter, or at least a family shelter shortly after. The days consist of queuing and waiting, queuing for food, queuing for the washing machine, queuing at the social welfare office, queuing at the job centre, ...Hope is at its lowest point. In one of these queues, Piper meets an elderly lady who allows her to pet her dog, Baby, because it immediately makes you feel a little better. Baby is the sort of antagonist to Piper. Individual chapters are written from Baby's point of view and tell the reader that the elderly lady is called Jewel, is homeless and ends up in hospital, where Baby is of course not allowed to go. Baby and Jewel have been living in a park, which is close to the family shelter where Piper lives with her family, which is why Piper meets and recognises Baby in the park. In the process she also befriends another homeless woman and her dog, which was a unique story arc as the conversations that take place around homelessness, life on the streets and Baby and Jewel give an insight into this world and make you think. Piper decides she must help Baby and reunite him with Jewel. Ultimately, the book is also about how Piper manages to make sure Jewel gets the respect she deserves at the hospital, brings Baby back to her and gives them both a different life away from the streets. I liked the idea of how Piper goes about all this. I liked the characters, including the other children who live in the family shelter and befriend Piper. There are a few scenes at school that I also found quite special, I would have liked more of them, but more would not have been necessary for the story. There is also an inner-family conflict, but it is not the focus but runs along in the background. It would have been too much to put it into this book in more detail. The book gives insight into topics that don't often find their way into children's literature, such as homelessness or emergency shelters, but also into the fact that your housing situation says nothing about who you are and that you can achieve great things even if you have little.Conclusion: A beautiful book, but not the easiest read emotionally, but worth reading.

This is such a sweet, heartwarming story about a homeless girl who befriends an elderly woman and her dog, and how a community comes together to help reunite them. This book is a great way to teach compassion and empathy to your children, as well as show them the dignity and worth of all people. It also provides the opportunity to discuss issues like poverty, homelessness, and mental illness.

The author, Bobbie Pyron, has hit another home run out of the park with her new book for middle school: Stay.This book takes the reader on a journey along with Piper and the new friends Piper makes along the journey she takes with her family. You see, Piper’s family hit a series of bumps along the road of life & they became homeless. After her family became homeless, Piper had to pack up very few belongings (among them her cherished copy of My Side of the Mountain) & hit the road. Piper & her family finally make it to a big city where they end up in a family shelter (Hope House), but Piper misses her old house, friends & her privacy terribly. In Hope House, Piper’s family has to share one room & she also has to share a bed with her little brother (who wets the bed)The other thing Piper hates about her new life is being labeled the homeless girl at her new school. Her new classmates know she is homeless, because she rides the homeless bus to school & has a special donated backpack.Yet, while living at Hope House with her family, Piper develops new friendships with the girls in the Firefly Girls Troop 423 (Piper was a Firefly Girl where she used to live). Her new friends in the Firefly Girls Troop, help her deal with some of the emotions she has been feeling recently.Piper also makes friends with a sweet street dog named Baby, who lives with his owner Jewel in the local public park (along with some other homeless people & their pets). These homeless people live in the public park, because the homeless shelters won’t take in their pets.Then, things get exciting when Baby’s owner gets really, really sick and ends up in the hospital. At first, no one knows which hospital Jewel has ended up in, but eventually one Jewel’s friends locates her. This friend, Ree, smuggles Baby inside the hospital for a visit, because the friend knows this is the best possible medicine for Jewel. After Baby visited the hospital with Ree, he decides to go back to the hospital on his own (because he really wants to be with his owner Jewel). Well, let’s just say that things didn’t work out so good & animal control came and took Baby to the animal shelter.When Piper learns of these developments, she knows that she must help out Baby and his owner Jewel. Thus begins a big mystery to discover who Jewel really is and where she was possibly going before ending up on the streets of the big city. Piper & her new friends have limited time to solve the mystery surrounding Jewel’s past, before the animal shelter lets a new family adopt Baby (taking him away from Jewel for good). Can Piper and her new friends solve the mystery in time?To find out what happens to Piper, Baby and Jewel, run out & grab a copy of this heartfelt animal story today. You won’t be disappointed in the adventure you will have with Piper and her new friends.

This cover is absolutely gorgeous! But I'll warn you that this story is WAY more than a cutesy dog story. Young Piper's family has hit very hard times with both her parents out of work. They initially wind up in a homeless shelter where fathers must be separated from the mothers and children while hoping family placement will open up soon. They must now wait in long lines for food from a soup kitchen and the children ride the homeless bus to their new school.Piper's family is just like everyone else's -- full of love, hope, and joy. However, her family faces shame and embarrassment by others who judge their misfortune. Piper finds comfort in Firefly Girls Troop 423 where she gets to focus on earning badges, just like she did back in her old home. And when someone in their homeless community is sick, hospitalized, and separated from her beloved companion dog, it's the entire community (both homes and homeless) that comes together in hopes of getting her back to safety.With both joy and sadness, there are important messages of empathy in this heartfelt tale. Because we never know when it might be OUR family standing in that free food line. Readers will also discover that people who are homeless are often the most generous of all -- it certainly doesn't take blood and genetics to be family. This will be a well-loved book for middle grade readers!For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!

Some people are just a step away from homelessness. A medical emergency, a lost job, a house sold to developers--suddenly you're on the streets. That's what happened to Piper, Dylan, and their parents. They have been moving around for months, looking for opportunity. Now they are in a new city, at a homeless shelter. It's hard not having your own space, and embarrassing hen kids tease you at school because of your circumstances. When Piper meets an old homeless woman in the park, along with her little dog, Baby, she soon finds a cause she's willing to fight for. Can she unite others to get this woman and dog the help they need? This story is told in alternating perspectives--first person from Piper, and first-person in free verse from Baby. It is heartfelt and well-written, aptly showing the situation in which some homeless people find themselves. And, ultimately, it is a story of kindness, not judging, and the true love of a dog. It would be a good read-aloud.

This middle grade novel is a feel-good dog story, but it’s also so much more than that. Piper and her family have had a lot of changes since her dad lost his job. Her family has become homeless, moving from place to place as her parents look for work. As they try to adjust to their new reality at the shelter where they’re living, Piper meets a homeless woman named Jewel and her dog, Baby. Even though she’s dealing with her own family’s crisis, when Jewel gets sick and needs to be hospitalized, Piper is determined to make sure Jewel and Baby stay together. Things I loved about this novel: Piper’s selflessness, despite her own family’s situation; the storytelling of family homelessness and mental illness is raw and real for middle grade readers; the power of a group (Piper’s Firefly Troop) coming together to help those in need. Told in alternating points of view between Piper, Baby and Jewel, this story will be a hit with readers.

Read this for my students but I think I enjoyed it just as much as they did! I cried at least five times throughout the story. It was refreshing to read a kids book about homelessness that wasn’t full of stereotypes. Led us into a great discussion about pets and homelessness, family homelessness, hope, and resiliency. Would recommend to young and old readers alike!

My daughter begged me to read it. If I was 10, I’d love it. Bipolar disorder, homelessness, grit, Girl Scouts, puppies. But I’m not 10. So I loved that she loved it and wanted to share it with me. This is her rating!

This book was the best book ever!!!!!!!!!! It was definitely worthy of the bluebonnet title, (2020-2021) and sorry Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadows, but this book wins for me. Baby totally stole my heart!

I listened to this with my 9 year old and liked that the story line was simple enough to follow that we would remember what was happening even though we took week breaks from listening. I loved how this book made homelessness real and the love and compassion shown by the characters.

This is a beautifully written book with lots of care and research taken about homelessness and homeless families, especially those with pets. I wanted to hug this book when I was finished with it. It has so much heart.

Powerful and important.

This book was so sweet and it was good!