The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors

by Drew Daywalt, Adam Rex (Illustrator)

Overview

New York Times Bestseller! 5 Starred Reviews!

"Will have listeners in stitches." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Purely absurd, sidesplitting humor." —Booklist (starred review)

"Demands bombastic, full-volume performances." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Perfect for a guffawing share with younger sibs or buddy read." —BCCB (starred review)

"The sort of story that makes children love to read." —School Library Journal (starred review)

From acclaimed, bestselling creators Drew Daywalt, author of The Day the Crayons Quit and The Day the Crayons Came Home, and Adam Rex, author-illustrator of Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, comes a laugh-out-loud hilarious picture book about the epic tale of the classic game Rock, Paper, Scissors.

"I couldn’t stop laughing while reading this aloud to a group of kids," commented the founder of Bookopolis.com, Kari Ness Riedel.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062438898
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	04/04/2017
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	19,832
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD670L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Drew Daywalt is an award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling children’s author whose books include The Day the Crayons Quit, The Day the Crayons Came Home, and The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors. Drew loves to play Rock, Paper, Scissors, but most of the time he can’t decide fast enough which one to pick and ends up making some bizarre shape with his hand that looks like a weird octopus with a hat. He’ll claim Weird Octopus with Hat beats everything, but don’t let him pull that nonsense on you.

Adam Rex is the author of many books, including Cold Cereal and Unlucky Charms, the first two books in the Cold Cereal Saga; the New York Times bestselling picture books The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors and Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich; the middle grade novel The True Meaning of Smekday (now a major motion picture from Dreamworks, Home); and the teen novel Fat Vampire. He lives in Arizona with his wife.

Editorial Reviews

★ 02/06/2017
Rock is the invincible champion of the Kingdom of Backyard, but winning comes too easily. “Smooshing you has brought me no joy,” he tells a flattened apricot. Meanwhile, two other hardcore competitors are having similar crises: Paper has vanquished all comers in the Empire of Mom’s Home Office (“Taste my fury, giant box-monster!” says Paper before jamming the computer printer), while Scissors is the undisputed victor of the Kitchen Realm. Their yearning for worthy opponents is finally answered by a meet-up in the garage. After three exhilarating rounds, they realize that their epic battles can go on forever: “Finally, they had each met their matches.” This exuberant collaboration between Daywalt (The Day the Crayons Quit) and Rex (How This Book Was Made) is similarly felicitous. Daywalt’s text, set in a range of expressive fonts, combines the heightened verbosity of vintage action comics with the swagger of backyard scuffles (“I hope you’re wearing your battle pants, rock warrior,” warns Scissors), and Rex composes wildly dramatic battle scenes against backdrops of thunderstorms, erupting volcanoes, and missile launches. Forget reading aloud—this story demands bombastic, full-volume performances. Ages 4–8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

★ “The earnest gravity of the fighters’ quests paired with the mundane setting and melodramatic tone are perfectly balanced to produce a brand of purely absurd, sidesplitting humor that kids will gobble up.

Booklist (starred review)

★ “While kids will snicker reading this on their own, it’s perfect for a guffawing share with younger sibs or buddy read, followed, of course, by a rousing game of Rock Paper Scissors.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

’The title and cover image are enough to get you giggling all on their own. But the epic battles depicted by children’s book powerhouses Drew Daywalt and Adam Rex are sure to have us in stitches.” Best Books of the Month

Brightly

★ “While kids will snicker reading this on their own, it’s perfect for a guffawing share with younger sibs or buddy read, followed, of course, by a rousing game of Rock Paper Scissors.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

’The title and cover image are enough to get you giggling all on their own. But the epic battles depicted by children’s book powerhouses Drew Daywalt and Adam Rex are sure to have us in stitches.” Best Books of the Month

Brightly.com

★ 04/01/2017
K-Gr 3—In the ancient kingdom of Backyard live many warriors, including Clothespin, Apricot, and the mighty and unbeatable Rock. After many battles, all won by Rock, he eagerly sets out to seek a more formidable opponent. Meanwhile, in the Empire of Mom's Home Office and the Kitchen Realm, Paper and Scissors are also finding themselves to be unconquerable among the warriors in their respective lands. Bored of only ever winning, the three fighters, in their quest for a challenge, come face-to-face in the cavernous Two-Car Garage, where they each meet their match. The newly discovered struggles that the three endure cause so much joy that they battle again and again, and children all over the world honor these battles to this very day. Featuring bold and frenzied colors and fonts, this picture book from the author of The Day the Crayons Quit will appeal to children everywhere. The energy that explodes from each spread is contagious, and readers will be hooked from the very first page. With wacky characters such as dinosaur-shaped chicken nugget warriors and a half-eaten bag of trail mix and illustrations that combine the real and the surreal, there is never a dull moment. VERDICT Laugh-out-loud funny and outrageous at times, this read-aloud will have listeners jumping out of their seats. This is the sort of story that makes children love to read.—Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

School Library Journal

★ 2017-01-17
Peer through the mists and learn the origin of the game that has resolved playground disputes beyond number."Long ago, in an ancient and distant realm called the Kingdom of Backyard, there lived a warrior named Rock." Rock travels far and wide searching for an adversary that might best him. The clothespin fails in battle, and the tangy sweetness of the apricot is easily squashed. Meanwhile, in the Empire of Mom's Home Office and the Kitchen Realm, respectively, Paper and Scissors set out on similar quests. Each trounces every foe. The likes of Computer Printer cannot stand against Paper (paper jam!). And the Dinosaur-Shaped Chicken Nuggets are snipped into submission by Scissors. Then Rock meets Scissors and thrashes her. She is pleased, but Rock feels he might never find his challenger until Paper arrives, uttering the fighting words "Hi there." The rest is history. Daywalt's silly tale unfolds in hilariously overblown text that is further melodramatized with ample and emphatic use of various display types. It is deliciously illustrated in true Rex style with wackily anthropomorphic inanimate objects and action-packed scenes. Rock is particularly funny, depicted as a small, Easter Island-type boulder with an outsized personality. Cheeky humor and prideful asides will have listeners in stitches. A closer-to-perfect pairing couldn't be imagined. Everyone wins! (Picture book. 4-10)

Kirkus Reviews

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