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The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors

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The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors
By Drew Daywalt
Illustrated by Adam Rex
Balzer + Bray, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2017. Picture Book.

Rock was sad. He was the toughest warrior in the Kingdom of Backyard. Nobody could beat him—which made him sad. The fact that there wasn’t another warrior who could match his skill was just depressing. Meanwhile in the Empire of Mom’s Home Office another warrior named Paper was conquering everyone. There wasn’t another warrior in the Empire that could match the skill of Paper—and this made him sad as well. He wished that there was someone who could give him a challenge. Finally in the Kitchen Realm (“in the tiny village of Junk Drawer”) there was a warrior named Scissors. She again was sad that there wasn’t a warrior who could beat her. It was frustrating to always be able to predict that she would win.

Thankfully all three warriors met in the great cavern of Two-Car Garage. There they can all commence in an epic battle that will prove if they are indeed the greatest of all warriors (or not)! And this is the reason why children all around the world play the game “Rock, Paper, Scissors”. Plus with one adversary that could always beat them, all three warriors lived happily ever after.

So, I think I could go on and on and on about this book. It is clever. It is funny. It is memorable. The text is well crafted (which is what I would expect from the author of The Day the Crayons Quit). And the illustrations are perfect in that they depict the specific warriors (and the other random objects found around the house) and their personalities. Basically, this is one of my new favorites that I think should become a regular part of family bedtime readings (as well as family game night). Love it!
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