Leprechauns Don't Play Basketball

The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids #4

by Marcia Thornton Jones, Marcia T. Jones

Melody is certain that her new basketball coach, Mr. O'Grady, is a leprechaun, and soon she and the other children are keeping an eye on him and observing his growing relationship with third grade teacher Mrs. Jeepers. Original.

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Juvenile, Mystery, Young Adult

80 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1992

About the author

Marcia Thornton Jones has published 131 books for children with sales totaling more than 43 million copies world-wide. Her works include CHAMP (mid-grade novel), RATFINK (mid-grade novel), GODZILLA ATE MY HOMEWORK (chapter book), THE TALE OF JACK FROST (picture book) and LEPRECHAUN ON THE LOOSE (picture book). She is the co-author of seven popular series including The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids, Keyholders, Ghostville Elementary, The Bailey School Kids Jr. Chapter Books, Triplet Trouble, Bailey City Monsters, and The Barkley School for Dogs.

Marcia has been listed as a top 100 author by the Educational Paperback Association and selected for the Children’s Top 100 Books list by the National Education Association, International Reading Associations Children’s Choice Award. Marcia's books have received many honors and have appeared on on the Publisher's Weekly Bestsellers lists,

Marcia, a full time writer living in Lexington, Kentucky enjoys presenting at schools and conferences. As a veteran teacher with more than 20 years of experience, she easily relates the importance of writing to students of all ages.

Reviews

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leprechauns Don't Play Basketball begins with what every book about St Patrick's Day should be and that's pinching. Eddie is pinching everyone that is not wearing green. He almost pinches a girl in his class Carrey ,the know it all but Mrs Jeepers stops him. Eddie insists on doing leprechauns work but Mrs Jeepers gets freaked by the mention of leprechauns .Eddie keeps up his mischief by tripping people ,kicking them and all the fun stuff. He is about to cut a strand of a girls hair when Mrs Jeepers begins to rub her green broach she always wears .They end up going to P.E where they see a very old looking short man wearing red. He has a pouch on his side. This is Mr O'Grady. He's here to teach them to dance like an Irish person (?) Eddie still wants to cause harm ,so he sneaks under the bleachers to release a bunch of basketballs but O'Grady reaches in his pouch and pulls out a stone and begins rubbing it and the balls go after Eddie making him dance .After this the kids think he is a leprechaun. Howie tells the kids his grandma is Irish so they go over to his house and find out more about leprechauns.Howies grandmother tells him a story about leprechauns. Basically leprechauns live at the end of a rainbow called emerald Isle.There was an emperor there that had these stones. They use these stones for different tricks and things and there's a fairy Stone that a vampire stole by pretending to be a teacher of the emperor's students .After that the vampires were able to ban the leprechauns to the emerald isle where they can only come back for three days.The amount of leaves on a three leaf clover thing. they also wear green to hide and to blend in with bushes and grass and stuff .We also learn if you stare into the eyes of a leprechaun you can control them. Of course Eddie doesn't believe any of this and he thinks that Mr O'Grady is not a leprechaun so he decides to try to trick him, because leprechauns are master tricksters and he does this by releasing a bunch of bees into the gym . The leprechaun just ends up controlling them . This further proves that he's the leprechaun because he out tricked him . This leads to the conclusion, which ends in a way that was pretty unique in my opinion .If there's one thing I realized while reading this book it's I don't know a thing about leprechauns.Im not sure if all do this is actually myths about the creatures but it was pretty fun . I especially likes that we kinda get a backstory of Mrs Jeepers broach. Leprechauns Don't Play Basketball was okay. It wasn't my favorite of the Bailey School Kids so far. I give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

[Pastel Paperback · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some fun mythology introduced of the supposed beef between leprechauns and vampires! A good one for the season.

[Emmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, I've been slowly reading my way through the Bailey School Kids books and I'm so excited I finally tracked this one down. This was one of my absolute favorites as a kid and I'll be honest, I was a little worried picking it up again 20+ years later. After all, a lot of the titles in this series, while fun, have felt formulaic, simplistic, and just okay.

Perhaps it was because it was earlier in the series, when ideas were fresher and the format hadn't become quite so rigid, but this was just a really good book. The story was extremely interesting, the "monster" was clearly exactly what the kids thought he was, and there was even a really interesting plotline about vampire and leprechauns being mortal enemies. Wow!

While I don't intend to keep any of the books that I've read for this challenge (just enjoying them for their own sake and passing them along to a new reader), this one and Dragons Don't Cook Pizza will remain with me. Two excellent books that I'll definitely want to read again. It sounds silly, but as I read the last few chapters, I swear I was 8 years old again! What a very happy place to be!

[Nella ☾ of Bookland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't get over how mean Eddie is 😭 he has smoke for everyone for no reason

[Becca]

New vampire lore just dropped. Vampire and leprechaun blood feud is being incorporated into my understanding of both things now.

Setting a goal for 2025 to do a full reread of all these books.

[Stephanie ((Strazzybooks)) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first Bailey School Kids I read as a kid (I have a fond memory of picking it out with my Dad at Walden's Books when I was 7 and just starting to play basketball), and I recently reread it with my nephew.

I've always liked this installment of the series. The kids rally together to protect Mrs. Jeepers and save the day. I'm looking forward to rereading some more.

[K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has been conflated in my memory with the Disney Channel Original Movie "The Luck of the Irish" (what is with leprechauns and basketball, anyway?) Anything is better when you add Timothy Omundson to it.

[Chloe (Always Booked) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this book very much. It's narrated by a really bratty and crass 3rd grader. They have a Romanian teacher who they describe so horridly. They suspect the substitute PE teacher is a leprechaun and theres a rivalry between him and the teacher. This book didn't make ton of sense and I just didn't like it.

[Kasara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved The Bailey School Kid books when I was my oldest daughter’s age. I used to get 7 or 8 at the library at a time and read them all in a week. I have started reading them with my two older girls and they are loving them. I remember the stories being better than they actually are— BUT it’s no wonder I love mysteries so much. These paved the way for sure!

[Melissa Namba · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that Lucy will definitely enjoy and I think it is appropriate for most kids. It does feel a little racist because there is a strong Irish/Romanian rivalry/hatred going on from the perspective of the kids. My only qualm is that I hate that they have one character that is unsympathetically bad. I wish it would show how he might be dealing with some personal issues rather than just leaving his as a jerk.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was creatively written. The story about a St. Patrick's Day and a leprechaun is something that children can relate to while also using their imagination. The book makes you want to read more from this series.

[Hannah Belyea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bailey Elementary welcomes a visiting basketball coach that has some serious skill - but when the third graders learn he has a treasure to hide, they begin to think he may actually be a leprechaun! Dadey will have young readers laughing the whole way through this entry!

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like this book because I do not like leprechauns. I enjoyed this book because I liked the part when the substitute for the gym teacher, which was a leprechaun, left. This book was not scary.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Good book.

[Chance Hansen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is weird. But so is the concept.

Cover
The strangest thing about this cover is that if it wasn't for the title I would have no clue he was a Leprechaun. Just some elderly dude. (I'm not just talking about the outfit.) Also what is with the kids expressions. I get Eddie looking shocked but everyone else looks board. I do have to admit just having a cut out of Mr. O'Grady's face from the front cover on the back cover makes him look creepier than he does on the front.
I will say wearing a green tie is a nice way to give a nod to the modern Leprechaun design.

Interior
Story
This apparent 51 book universe is strange and forgivingly short. The lore in this book is shockingly deep and really pushes as much information and story as possible.
It is interesting how they not only added old mythology origins of Leprechauns originally being dressed in red into the story but they incorporated the design change into the plot itself. While I didn't expect that to be an actual real detail the other details don't go much farther than that. (Wouldn't it be an interesting addition if they said making shoes was a fourth fun thing to do.)
A little extra mythology lesson I didn't think I would get today.
Man, Eddie is quite a trouble maker. I have to admit not revealing what happened when he was taken into the hall with Mrs. Jeepers is really good choice.
I do think maybe a couple more added failed plots/pranks could have been a fun addition to the story. Building more personality not only to the kids but to Mr. O'Grady.
The gym teacher is hilarious and his scenes in the book stole the moment.

Illustrations
The illustrations are really nice. Great expressions and layouts. When there is a chance I love the playfulness in the pictures, hence the girl swinging from the rope during the release of the bees.

After Thoughts
I was torn between a two and a three stars. I think the book is ok but giving it two stars doesn't seem to do it justice. Over all I think this book is OK though.

[Morgan Stout · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember loving reading the Bailey School Kids when I was in second and third grade, so I have read the first few to my 6-year-old daughter to get her interested in them. Unfortunately, there are a few things I don't love about the books now that I am reading them as an adult.

Firstly, I don't appreciate how often the author focuses on Melody's chubbiness. My kids don't naturally think about body image yet and I don't think it is necessary for kids to be taught to do so. Leprechauns Don't Play Basketball only mentioned her chubbiness once, but Werewolves Don't Go to Summer Camp mentioned it over and over again. When I read aloud, I can edit these comments out, but when my daughter listens to the audiobooks or gets to the point of reading the books on her own, I don't get to edit this out. I know I can talk to her about why it isn't okay to comment on people's weight, but I still don't think these comments and descriptions are necessary in these books.

My other concern with these books is how troublesome and rude Eddie is. I don't enjoy reading about him and while I know my girls are not likely to follow his example, I still don't love them hearing about his disrespectful antics.

[paige turner ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it's pretty cool how they kept Mrs. Jeepers as a recurring character. I think she was one of my favourites. I also really enjoyed the mystery. I don't know if the thing with leprechauns and vampires is a real folk tale sort of thing, but it was pretty cool. I like the little back story that sort of, kind of, confirmed that their teacher was a vampire. It seemed apparent that Mr. O'Grady and Mrs. Jeepers knew one another. I was just a little disappointed in the action. I don't know, I think it was just missing something.

I do always like how the stories end though, at least those are always good. I just want more. I don't know what more I want, but I just know I'm not getting enough, even though I really liked it.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books. I read them all the time growing up so they have a special place in my heart.

I read this one months ago with my nephew. (Some year I'll actually stay on top of my reviews. Haha!) They're super easy to read and fun.

The new PE teacher may just be a leprechaun. He seems to have a bag of tricks up his sleeve and and unhealthy fascination for Mrs. Jeeper's green brooch. Mrs. Jeeper's also gets nervous around the new PE teacher. Legend has it that vampires and leprechauns don't get along well.

These are great beginner chapter books for kids. Easy to read and lots of fun!

“He may be short,” Liza said. “And he may be from Ireland, but I’m pretty sure leprechauns don’t play basketball.”

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

St. Patrick’s Day is always a tricky time at school. But there’s definitely more to the holiday than meets the eye in this book from the Bailey School Kids’ series. Eddie, the class prankster, seems to have met his match with Mr. O’Grady, a guest gym teacher from Ireland. The children are convinced that he’s a leprechaun and that he’s up to no good. Chapter book readers in grades 3 or 4 will enjoy finding out whether or not Mr. O’Grady truly is a leprechaun and what it is he’s up to. This might be fun to have in your classroom library or at home during the month of March.

[Melissa -Crazy Lucky Book Nerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bouncing Green Basketballs!
this installment of the Bailey School Kids was....boring. I would figure that the book would do the same as the previous three books only gave hints that the teachers were the creature in question. For example, there was no confirmation that Miss. Jeepers was a vampire. However not only was Coach O'Grady confirmed a leprechaun it was also slightly confirmed that Miss Jeepers was a vampire. Also apparently there's a long war between leprechauns and vampires (which is a movie I must see). Overall it was too silly to even be entertaining.

[Hannah Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Bailey School Kids. While this is a fun lore add, the book itself is pretty meh.

The lore add here is great. It builds on Mrs. Jeepers' backstory, and Mrs. Jeepers is one of my favorite characters. But the kids in this book aren't great. Eddie is at full jerk mode. The other three are more of back characters (Howie's grandmother gets more pages than he does). Howie's grandmother is cool, but their is a weird stereotypes on the Irish accent in this book. It ends up reading kind of strangely.

[Shambray Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a kid I LOVED this book and my daughter loved it so much she got more books from the library in this series. I didn't love it as much as when I was a kid, but it was fun to read it with my daughter.

[Javier Trost · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a simple read as an adult and I think it is perfect for 3rd and 4th graders. It is important to have an imagination and fun. It's a simple and direct story that can be read for fun. I look forward to reading more in this series.

[Laura Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading books from my past. It makes me want to find more books I can reread.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as books 1 and 3, but still pretty cute.

[Taren Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter and I have been making our way through these quick reads. She likes the kids as characters and the different voices I use.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

New gym teacher is suspected of being a leprechaun, so the kids try to outsmart him and get him sent back to Ireland. C+

[Reneethereader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was so cute! I love how you never quite know if the people are supernatural or not

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I liked this one a little bit more because Eddie and Mr. O'Grady were more evenly matched - trickster v. trickster, as opposed to just "the new person in town."

[Christopher Rupel · Rating 2 out of 5]

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