Common Sense Media Review
By Jan Carr
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Raucous fun imagining origin story for popular kids' game.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
THE LEGEND OF ROCK PAPER SCISSORS imagines that Rock, Paper, and Scissors were once warriors battling in their respective kingdoms, looking for worthy foes. Each of them vanquishes all others. Rock smooshes an apricot, Paper defeats a printer by causing a paper jam, and Scissors lays waste to a roll of tape. Finally, they meet each other, and kids can predict the outcome: Rock defeats Scissors, Paper defeats Rock, and Scissors defeats Paper.
Is It Any Good?
There's lots of rollicking good fun in this book that imagines the origin of the kids' game rock, paper, scissors as a classic legend, complete with warriors, kingdoms, and epic battles. The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors is filled with serious silliness. Paper battles a printer and wins by causing a paper jam. Scissors challenges a tape dispenser by saying, "Let us do battle, you tacky and vaguely round monstrosity," while the tape dispenser vows to use his "adhesive and tangling powers."
The human-like warriors are fiercely funny, and the raging battles are announced in all caps, as if shouted from the ring: "ROCK VERSUS APRICOT! PAPER VERSUS HALF-EATEN BAG OF TRAIL MIX!" There's also some giggle-inducing underwear and butt humor. So who's funnier and more clever, author Drew Daywalt or illustrator Adam Rex? That battle may be a very happy draw.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the made-up legend in The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors. How do you think the author came up with this idea? Can you make up legends yourself?
Do you play rock, paper, scissors with your friends? What are the rules, and who wins over whom? Could you predict who was going to win in the battles in the book?
How does the artist give the inanimate objects expressive faces and qualities?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Adam Rex
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Book Characters
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Balzer + Bray
- Publication date : April 4, 2017
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 48
- Available on : Hardback, Apple Books
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate