Actress Danica McKellar — called a "math superstar" by The New York Times — rips the lid off the myth that math "sucks," helping to show that math can be easy, relevant, and even glamorous!With Danica as a personal tutor and coach, even the most frustrated student will finally "get" fractions, decimals, rates, ratios, proportions, "solving for x," and more — the very concepts that, if not fully understood in middle school, have been proven to cause continued problems throughout high school and beyond.

---

Product Description

From a well-known actress and math genius—a groundbreaking guide to mathematics for middle school girls, their parents, and educators

As the math education crisis in this country continues to make headlines, research continues to prove that it is in middle school when math scores begin to drop—especially for girls—in large part due to the relentless social conditioning that tells girls they “can’t do” math, and that math is “uncool.” Young girls today need strong female role models to embrace the idea that it’s okay to be smart—in fact, it’s sexy to be smart!

It’s Danica McKellar’s mission to be this role model, and demonstrate on a large scale that math doesn’t suck. In this fun and accessible guide, McKellar—dubbed a “math superstar” by The New York Times—gives girls and their parents the tools they need to master the math concepts that confuse middle-schoolers most, including fractions, percentages, pre-algebra, and more. The book features hip, real-world examples, step-by-step instruction, and engaging stories of Danica’s own childhood struggles in math (and stardom). In addition, borrowing from the style of today’s teen magazines, it even includes a Math Horoscope section, Math Personality Quizzes, and Real-Life Testimonials—ultimately revealing why math is easier and cooler than readers think.

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17643 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-02
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
“McKellar is probably the only person on prime-time television who moonlights as a cyberspace math tutor.”
—The New York Times

“[When] girls tell [Danica] that they’re studying math because of her, she says, ‘I feel I’m helping them find a talent they didn’t know they had.’”
—People

About the Author
Best known for her roles on The Wonder Years and The West Wing, Danica McKellar graduated summa cum laude in mathematics from UCLA, went on to co-write a published math theorem, and continues to be an outspoken role model for young women to excel in math.

---

Customer Reviews

Not only a good book, but one your daughter might actually READ
My oldest daughter used to like math; she could tear through and do her homework in no time. But after a couple of bad math teachers (who favored massive doses of homework instead of spending time explaining and helping students understand) she simply burned out. She didn't understand anymore, had no reason to believe it applied to her life, and felt math was a punishment. I can help explain it each evening, but for a pre-teen i, hearing that math applies to her life as well only carried so much weight coming from her father.

I heard about this book from a science blog i frequently read. I was skeptical but got a copy for her. On the surface it looks kinda "girlie girl" for her taste, but looking inside i saw there are good explanations that are more engaging to read. It's well written: not only does it explain without condescending or just inserting "So, like, omigod!" language here and there, but the book provides understandable examples tailored to concepts more appealing to a young girl. Obviously it doesn't explain everything (a book like that would be so thick it would scar away even Tolkein) but instead this book says just what it needs, and provides the encouraging support that textbooks lack.

She rolled her eyes at first, but politely gave it a try. A few weeks later, i found evidence that she was still consulting the book, even jotting notes in the margins. After six months i still see it hovering near or on top of her stack of books, and fresh notes appear inside from time to time.

I will not pretend it "cured" her and that her grades have skyrocketed, but she is far more willing to push through the piles of handouts. Math doesn't seem as scary to her as it once was. And, remembering how she felt when i was in grade school, i believe that confidence is a huge step for her in the long term.

I simply don't see much here...
...most of the book is devoted to fractions and related expressions such as ratios, proportions, decimals and percentages...the explanations offered for doing various mathematical operations on these expressions are no more lucid than those found in your average math textbook...and once you remove the "girly" sidebars and glitzy drawings, the presentation of these explanations really isn't much different either...I also found the presentation to be rather degrading to women -- implying that "girly" sidebars and drawings of pencils with flowers on them are somehow necessary to coax enthusiasm for math out of a woman...I suggest that for teaching math you should stick with a good basic math textbook -- most nowadays have supplemental workbooks and CD's as well as internet sites offering a variety of activities...supplement with diverse approaches like Jacobs' "Mathematics: A Human Endeavor"...and for additional tutoring in specific areas look at Edward Zaccaro's books...and if your looking for something to stimulate interest in math then I strongly recommend Sarah Flannery's "In Code" -- although a couple of grades above middle school math, it is a remarkable story that should be read by all young women...my qualifications: homeschooling two daughters.

Wonderful book for middle school girls
This book is absolutely right on target. It contains math concepts put into a form that is friendly, fun, and engaging, and written in a way that perfectly reaches girls entering middle school math classes. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!