Mummies Don't Coach Softball

The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids #21

by Marcia Thornton Jones, Marcia Thornton Jones

Losing game after game during softball season, the Bailey Batters wonder if their eccentric coach, who is continually wearing bandages because of many injuries, is really a mummy and has placed a curse on them. Original.

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

96 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

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 4 out of 5]

I just finished another book in the Bailey School kids book series.This one is called Mummies Don't Coach Softball.The story begins with the kids Melody,Eddie,Howie and Liza at the baseball diamond.They are at a softball game and Eddie is spitting in his hat for good luck.They are playing the Sheldon slammers at Antwerp Feild.It turns out they have never won at Antwerp Field.We learn that Coach Ellison went on vacation,so his replacement is Coach Tuttle,a very clumsy coach.Upon his arrival, he falls down the bleachers.When he gets up,he pulls this black bag out and wraps his injuries up.One of the more hilarious scenes is when he tries to teach the kids to hit the ball with a bat and he let's go of the bat and busts a window out of a car.This pretty much cancels the game and they get a reset game.One of the kids think Coact Tuttle is a mummy.Liza tells the kids this story she heard from a nearby museum that further elaborates why a mummy would be in Bailey City.This stranger showed up to Bailey City along time ago and he was very unlucky.His house burned down,he lost his cat.The only thing he had was this Dimond.Antwerp the supposedly stealer of this diamond buried it somewhere in Bailey city.So we get a little bit of lore of Bailey City,which is really cool.The diamond that got stolen disturbed this Mummy Of Doom and now caused bad luck for the town.We also get an appearance from Mrs.Jeepers and more lore.It turns out that the school was actually built on top of the burned down Antwerp museum.I really enjoyed Mummies Don't Coach Softball.I thought the scene where he breaks a window was pretty crazy and hilarious.I lived that we got some lore form Bailey City.I give Mummies Don't Coach Softball a four out of five stars.

[Hannah Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid addition to the Bailey School series, but it's not really more than that. Maybe it's because I'm not a softball fan, or maybe because I don't like how mummies are portrayed here. It's worse than cliche- it's a bit offensive. Mummies aren't just a convenient horror monster, they are a burial ritual to honor the dead. Equating that to a coach that wears too many bandages is....problematic. I get that this is a kids book, but this is uncomfortable. Also, the vampire teacher happens to have boxes in the attic from the previous owner? I'm totally fine with the vampire teacher concept (love Mrs. Jeepers), but the idea of having a bunch of boxes from the previous owner is what ends up being unbelievable to me (especially since the previous owner was a stranger).

But my kid really enjoyed it. She loves this whole series, just as I did at her age. I won't deny that.

[Britt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bailey school kids didn't think they could get more unlucky. Their team has never won a game at Antwerp Field and this year was going to be even worse because of their new clumsy substitute coach. He had a habit of hurting himself and liked to wrap himself in bandages. After so many accidents and bandage coverings, he started to look like a mummy. No one could put their finger on it, but something had to have cursed the field and the team, but what exactly was it? Liza thinks she's figured it out, but will she be able to change things before their next big game so they can maybe win for once?

This series is great for Elementary students and the illustrations are excellent.

[J.B. Mathias · Rating 3 out of 5]

some good lore in this one, but it needed a little more like an ending for the baseball game. They build up this rivalry and then end the book as the game is about to begin. They could have done a whole thing where they win the game and its not clear if its because the curse was lifted or if it was because...they all built up strength and endurance searching for treasure and filling in all those holes in the field. Seems like a missed opportunity.

[Emmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is Coach Tuttle a mummy? Absolutely not. Bailey School books can be divided into three categories-- (1) Yes, the monster is real; (2) No, the monster is not real; and (3) Inconclusive. This solidly fell into category 2. Tuttle is just a normal (albeit) very clumsy man. That being said, it was a fun story, and the mystery of who is digging up the ball field was never fully explained (although I'm going to guess it was Diamond).

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book but i guess they could have added more pages to the book. We have this vocabulary thing that involves if you find a vocab word in a book you get a piece of candy or an apple and i found so many words. This is a 5th-6th grade book and i am in 6th. This is not advanced reader but it is pretty good for a 5th-6th grade book.

[paige turner ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loooooooved the story Liza told her friends giving them a little mystery about their town. I kind of wish the story was the one Liza told. BUT it was still pretty good for what it was.

I guess Mr. Tuttle really did find the buried treasure, because he sure did change over night. At least the curse over the field AND Tuttle has been lifted, maybe now Bailey city will win more than they lose.

[Maximilian Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because couch Tuttle is very funny because he is clumsy. I also liked this book because the Bailey Batters finally WON!!!!(the game)

[Alex Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not the best book that I have read, but it is still OK. The one main thing that I do not like is the fact that it leaves you a little bit clueless at the end.

[Dana Bolen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun mystery for kids.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am SO confused by the ending to this one!

[Josh Epp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always a fun time with Bailey school kids! Quick story this time around!

[Jason Pettus · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I now maintain a blog just for my kid-lit reviews. Find it at http://kidlit4adults.blogspot.com .)

A friend has convinced me to try my hand this year for the first time at writing children's literature; but I don't actually know anything about children's literature, so am starting the process among other ways by first reading a stack of popular books that have been recommended to me. Today's titles are from yet another of these series of endless chapter-books designed for grade-schoolers, in this case all of them co-penned by a duo of friends who used to be grade-school teachers themselves; this is one of the types of employment I myself am hoping to find in the industry, to kick out such easy-reading 30,000-word titles once a month or so, which is why I'm reading so many of them these days. Now, admittedly, this particular series is based on a high-concept that I find tough to imagine lasting for as long as it has; basically, each title features yet another new adult in the lives of our middle-class child heroes who may or may not be a mythological creature, exhibiting strange traits throughout the story but never just coming out and saying whether they're a mummy or vampire or whatever. (And in fact there are almost 75 books in this series now, nearly all of them featuring a different mythological creature, which just on its own is pretty impressive.) These are very much for the younger end of the chapter-book crowd, in my opinion from ages 7 to about 9 or 10, featuring lots of illustrations and a ton of silly humor; and to their credit Dadey and Jones are much more interested in simply being entertaining than in trying to teach a moral lesson, usually a common trait among books for this age group. They're nothing special, but certainly readable and fun, and come recommended for younger readers looking for their first dose of genre excitement but wanting to avoid dark material altogether.

[BookeryBliss · Rating 4 out of 5]

The collection of "The adventures of the Bailey School Kids" stories are among my all-time favorite children's books. Witty, mischievous and fun, these short and silly books continue to bring giggles to the young and old. Just as I have enjoyed them as a kid, my own children also love them today. I even catch myself re-reading them (alone) from time to time. What can I say? I guess I'll always be a BSK kid at heart.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bailey City’s softball team sucks, so a new coach is hired---a coach with a large number of bandages and an amazing clumsiness. Liza suspects him of being a mummy. It also appears that the team’s softball field is cursed due to the team’s frequent losses. The book has an unusual number of subplots involving the coach, a missing tomb diamond, a curse, and strange activity at Mrs. Jeepers’ house.

Funny.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

all of these books are a series of many books that the author makes based on fantasy for example it uses many made up charactars doing human like things like we do and these kids are a group of spies finding out if they really are what they seem

[Melissa Namba · Rating 3 out of 5]

a cute one where the back story is the curse of some stolen diamonds, which is of course linked to the baseball field. I loved the accident prone assistant coach, I think we all know people like that. kids will like it.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

the man is always falling and putting bandages all over him self..he looks like a mummy and at the end you see that he really is a mummy

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of book was just funny and entertaining as a kid!

[Sam - Spines in a Line · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mystery series I enjoyed as a child.

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read these all in while I was in middle school and loved them, giving them a 3.5-4.0 for my past 12 year old self.

[Seth · Rating 2 out of 5]

they got a new coach. his name was Coach Tuttle. Coach tuttle wore bandages. he dug holes. they went to miss Jeeper's house!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

great when ur little