Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail (McKellar Math)

I am a secondary principal for a private Christian school in Minnesota. I read this book with the hope of writing a review of it for our monthly parent newsletter. The text of my review follows. Do you remember that show from the 90s called The Wonder Years? The star of the show was a young teenage boy named Kevin Arnold. One of his best friends and primary love interest was a smart, straight-laced girl named Winnie, played by Danica McKellar. Well, Winnie is all grown up, and besides playing a periodic role in West Wing, she is also a writer, and her newest book has brought a pleasant surprise to the academic world.McKellar's new book, published in 2007, is intriguingly titled Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail. As you can infer from the title, McKellar's audience is middle school girls who don't like math. Amazingly, she has written a middle school math book and packaged it in such a way that any teenage girl (or high school principal for that matter) can enjoy entertaining examples, uplifting sidebars, and common sense math teaching for the mathematically challenged or disinterested (including high school principals).So is it okay for a Christian school principal to write a glowing review of a book called Math Doesn't Suck? After all, when I first brought the book home to read it, my nine-year old daughter asked me why I had a book with a swear word on the cover. And honestly, I have labored over this question. However, after reading the book, I believe it's a must-read for our middle school girls. In fact, I have to admit that it was the brash title that interested me enough that I would buy a math book. Had it been titled something proper like Helping Your Teenager Like Math, I would have passed it by without a second thought.Catchy titles and star appeal are great, but if the book lacks in content, it won't get too far in the reviews. But this book has it all. As Danica McKellar opens each chapter, she begins with relevant and humorous applications of the math concept she is about to explain. For example, she discusses friendship bracelets for prime numbers and factorization, boy crushes for greatest common factor, brand name shoes for multiples, and iced lattes for multiplying and dividing fractions. In her chapter on decimals, she explains "Why calculators would make terrible boyfriends" ("Calculators don't know how to handle the concept of forever. They only see things in the short term (Sort of like some guys we all know.)")In addition to these unique approaches to sometimes confusing math concepts, McKellar inserts quirky mnemonics that help readers remember math tricks. She uses the "Birthday Cake Method" for finding Greatest Common Factors, "Copycat Fractions" for finding equivalent fractions, and she includes a helpful chart that offers "EZ Divisibility Tricks for Factoring (for example, "If the sum of the digits is divisible by 3, then you know 3 is a factor. Example: 270. Add up the digits: 2+7+0 = 9. Since 9 is divisible by 3, we know that 270 is divisible by 3.").Math Doesn't Suck is not just about math. McKellar also includes inspiring testimonials from fashionable, glamorous, smart, and successful young women. The constant theme that runs through the book is that girls don't need to "dumb themselves down" for anyone, being smart is cool, math is for girls, and girls can do anything they set their minds to. McKellar offers engaging personal examples, snippets from her personal diary as a young teenager, and testimonials from teenagers and role models to continue on this theme.If you have an upper elementary or middle school daughter who exhibits any trouble or disinterest in math, I highly recommend that she read this book. You may find that it's the first of many math books that she'll enjoy.

I wish she was my math teacher back in the 70s. The way you teach it is an attention getter , and you bring it to a level where I can understand. Thank you so much. Please keep making more books on math. The ones you have made are not in vain. You are a big help.

This is a wonderful book! As a parent and an educator (& someone who worked really hard to become good at math when I was in school because it seemed so difficult since the focus was only on whether the boys were good at math), I am happy I decided to purchase this book. My daughter is a performer, loves to learn and does well in school. She is good at math as long as she is in homeschool, but when I put her back in public school then she becomes stressed out, exhausted, and her love of math disappears--along with her confidence in understanding and completing math assignments. I made it a personal goal to introduce a love of math to my daughter, and to give her examples, come up with games, and tips/tricks to help her realize that she can do math well (and she was having fun with it). But now that she has been back in public school for a few years, that "fun-with-math" feeling has been stomped to death. So, to have an intelligent woman who is also in the performing arts industry (& is a working actor!) be excited about math and encouraging for other girls to develop a love of math is fantastic! It is frustrating to watch other instructors take away my child's inner enjoyment and her confidence in a task that I KNOW she can do, and no matter how I try to undo their destructive lessons, it doesn't seem to be working as well as I think it should. I think sometimes my daughter needs to hear my words and encouragement come to her from other sources, to really know it isn't just a "well, mom loves me and wants me not to give up so of course she says that" type of situation LOL! And that is ok with me, as long as she remembers that she can do it and she can do it well, and understand it & have fun with it. So thanks, Danica!! :-) You have done an amazing job with this book, and we appreciate it.

Ok, I'm not in middle school. And I'm not a girl. I'm a 66 year old man that got out of high school in 1966 barely understanding anything more than Arithmetic. Anything more than add, subtract, multiply, and divide never sunk in. I bought all four of Danica's books to make up for that regret. I've started with this one, and it's finally sinking in. I'm actually learning math.I will tackle each book as I come to it, even if it takes a six months at a time. (Let's face it I have lots of other things to do.) And I will rate each one as I work it. This one, Math Doesn't Suck, is a five star, first class teaching book and here's why:Over the years I've noticed most formal texts teach a subject from the viewpoint of the author's understanding of it. That may seem to make sense, if you don't think about it too much. But the best texts on any subject -- the most successful at teaching the subject -- are the texts that teach from the viewpoint of the STUDENT NOT KNOWING ANYTHING YET, and FROM THE STUDENTS COMMUNICATION LEVEL (not life experience level, but in words and examples the intended student can already understand coming up on the subject, even if that is 'zero').If you think about it, you've probably noticed that yourself. The texts you always learn the best from are those that teach "in layman's terms", "in terms you already know", or "in the simplest, easiest to understand explanations". In other words, from the viewpoint of you not already understanding anything on the subject matter yet.Sweet 'tween' talk aside, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE BOOKS. And an EXCELLENT one at that.You can safely stop wondering about it and just buy it -- and get busy learning math -- like me.I am hoping Danica McKeller adds Trigonometry and Calculus to her collection.

great book, even for my 14 year old son (given that it's aimed at girls....) explained a lot of stuff really clearly - I wish they'd taught maths like this back in my day.... (plus what's not to love about 'Winnie' from The Wonder Years - cool kid and even cooler adult maths whizz!)

My daughter has been reading it before bed and says it is good. It is defenetly different from any maths book in the market. Good light read and practice. She is in year 7 and I decided to buy the first one on the series to build up on knowledge.

Quick delivery. Explains maths in practical terms. Wish I could have had this book when I was year 6!

As new a great book

Brilliant book