What books are similar to The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors?

The 10 closest matches to The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt on ReadingList include The Day the Crayons Quit, Dog Breath, How to Eat Fried Worms, No More Dead Dogs, and Sam & Dave Dig a Hole. Each is scored on shared themes (humor, adventure, and rock-paper-scissors (game)), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 2–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 2–8), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.

How does ReadingList choose similar books?

Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Books like The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors

If you liked The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors, read The Day the Crayons Quit, Dog Breath, or How to Eat Fried Worms — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt (Humor · grades 2–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of humor, adventure, and rock-paper-scissors (game). The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 2–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Day the Crayons Quitgrades K–3: Is by Drew Daywalt, the same author, both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+2 more shared lists), and same genre (Humor). Amazon → books like this →
Dog Breathgrades 2–8: Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Humor). Amazon → books like this →
How to Eat Fried Wormsgrades 3–6: Shares themes of humor, both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Humor). Amazon → books like this →
No More Dead Dogsgrades 2–8: Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Humor). Amazon → books like this →
Sam & Dave Dig a Holegrades K–3: Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Humor). Amazon → books like this →
The Best School Year Evergrades 3–6: Shares themes of humor, both on the Land of Enchantment Book Award list, and same genre (Humor). Amazon → books like this →
This is My Bookgrades K–3: Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and same genre (Humor). Amazon → books like this →
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates!grades K–3: Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Humor). Amazon → books like this →
Arnie, the Doughnutgrades 2–8: Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and same genre (Humor). Amazon → books like this →
Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Daysgrades 4–6: Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Humor). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors for younger readers (K–2)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.

Double Trouble in Walla Walla by Andrew Clements · grades K–3 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and same genre (Humor).
Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox · grades K–3 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Humor).
Just Another Ordinary Day by Rod Clement · grades K–3 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Humor).
Let's Do Nothing by Tony Fucile · grades K–3 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Humor).
Suddenly! by Colin McNaughton · grades K–3 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Humor).

Books like The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

Double Trouble in Walla Walla by Andrew Clements · grades K–3 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and same genre (Humor).
Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox · grades K–3 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Humor).
Just Another Ordinary Day by Rod Clement · grades K–3 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Humor).
Let's Do Nothing by Tony Fucile · grades K–3 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Humor).
Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude by O'Malley, Kevin · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Humor).

Books like The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

The Sixth Grade Nickname Game by Gordon Korman · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Humor).
When the Boys Ran the House by Joan Davenport Carris · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and same genre (Humor).
A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Dogtown by Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor, both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen · grades 3–8 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (3–8).

Books like The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Humor).
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of adventure, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and overlapping grades (5–9).
Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds · grades 3–10 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s).
Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+3 more shared lists), overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s).
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell · grades 4–9 — Both on the Land of Enchantment Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–9), and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors?: The 10 closest matches to The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt on ReadingList include The Day the Crayons Quit, Dog Breath, How to Eat Fried Worms, No More Dead Dogs, and Sam & Dave Dig a Hole. Each is scored on shared themes (humor, adventure, and rock-paper-scissors (game)), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 2–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 2–8), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.
How does ReadingList choose similar books?: Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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