The Bailey School Kids: Zombies Don’t Play Soccer by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones takes the kids on an adventure with the living dead. Eddie’s behavior has gotten their soccer coach to quit on them. Now they have a new coach and she is the biggest woman that they have ever seen. She’s a tough cookie to boot and Eddie’s friends are not happy that they now have a coach that is going to work them to death. But hey they might actually break their losing streak now that they have a coach that loves soccer so much that she believes a good soccer game could wake the dead.

The kids don’t know a whole lot about their new coach other than she is not to be messed with. That is until during practice an older woman only a fraction of the size of the coach shows up and gives her the riot act. Their untouchable coach actually looks scared and intimidated. They don’t know who this old woman is but after she leaves, their coach isn’t the same. She goes from highly involved drill sergeant to a motionless and quiet with her eyes barely open. She just sits there on the bench like a zombie.

Melody knows all about zombies thanks to her cousin. Her cousin told her all about enchanters and that little old woman that showed up on the field must have put a spell on their coach. All of Melody’s friends think she has lost her mind. There is no such thing as actual zombies and “zombies don’t play soccer.” It’s just an expression, but if that’s true, what is going on with their coach? Even Eddie’s misbehavior can’t get the coach off the bench and yelling. The kids are getting worried and a big game is right around the corner.

Discouraged, the kids try all sorts of different things to get their new coach back to normal and break the zombie spell but nothing seems to work. They can’t win the game without their coach to help them and they never win any games. What did that old lady do to her and will they ever get their coach back? At the last minute, Melody comes up with the most genius plan that just might work and get their coach back in the game. Hopefully it works and hopefully they can get their first win.