Danica McKellar

This is a personal reflection from Danica Mckellar's experiences through her school years to how she ended up becoming a math teacher herself. This book is to empower women to help them love math in a conversational storytelling way. Lessons are given in the book in a way that makes them engaging to learn for the reader. She is showing it's okay to be smart! A lot of advice is given in a way to be useful not only in school but takeaway to use in real life as well. This is a great book to show more encourage students to read, and also as a teacher to use for tips and tricks to make an engaging lesson. show less

I picked this up because I heard her on NPR, but the book is amazing. Middle-school math concepts that I had forgotten or couldn't figure out how to explain to our 6th grader are explained clearly and simply and with a sense of humor, plus lot of little tips and tricks to help students along. (I knew about the rules for finding out if a number can be divided by 2, 3, and 5, but not the ones for 6 and 9!) There's a lot of morale-building quotes and stories here too. Our 6th grader won't read show more it because she insists "It's WRONG. Math DOES TOO suck!" but I'll be getting us a copy so we can use it to help her with her math homework and I can stop trying to figure out how to explain this stuff on my own! show less

The purpose is to subvert the societal idea that girls shouldn't bother with math. The book's aim is to help middle schoolers (especially girls) find the value in using math to exercise their brains. Playing dumb to impress is a fools game. There is a strong push in our culture to keep young women in a consumerist state, which wreaks havoc on their self image and often skews their desired values. As silly as it may seem to create a math textbook in a teen magazine format, it is a genius way show more to reach these girls. The heartfelt introduction my McKellar is a nice touch as well. My ideas have been reinforced by this book. I am a believer in the special importance of creating new ways to educate girls. The education system is frankly, still primarily set up for boys to succeed. The book is written in an informal, conversational style. The writing is coherent and uses technical words correctly, while remaining conscious of the audience. The writing style suits the audience perfectly, using direct language, appropriate slang, and fun scenarios. show less

This beautifully illustrated example of edutainment shows rather well that yes, you can tell a story that is vibrant and magic filled, while still imparting some practical lessons. Here, we have TEN flower friends that love being their petaled selves, but wish with all their pollen filled hearts to fly. A kind hearted fairy helps them reach their dreams, ONE by ONE, only to discover that the grass may not be greener on the other side, simply different, and when this new vantage point is show more understood, their desire to return things to their previous state have them counting back down from TEN to ONE. It's subtle, but it's there...and the additional lesson of BEING YOURSELF to be your best is most appreciated too.


**copy received for review show less