Kiss My Math: Pre-Algebra Showing Who’s Boss [Soft cover]
by Danica McKellar
352 pages, $24.95
ISBN-10: 1594630496
Non-fiction
In the late 1980s, ABC blessed America with an endearing drama called “The Wonder Years.” A young Fred Savage navigated the turmoil of coming of age in the 1960s, a period of American history plagued by turmoil. In this family sitcom, his co-star, Danica McKellar, was Winnie, his hot on-and-off girlfriend. Struggling with math concepts was probably too mundane a plot to be aired on this friendly TV show.
Ms. McKellar decided to take a break from acting to attend UCLA, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, and even helped write original research that proved an original mathematical theorem. During that course of study, she had an epiphany: math doesn’t have to be a young woman’s nightmare. Choosing not to stay in the high towers of the math academy, he wrote math doesn’t sucka book aimed specifically at young women to help those struggling with math anxiety.
kiss my math is based on the content of math doesn’t suck, to lead his readers to a greater understanding of prealgebraic concepts. Having taught high school mathematics, this writer cannot find fault with the proof of the mathematical principles presented. One of the benefits of studying math, or even teaching math, is the fact that, in the end, math problems can only have one correct answer. Math anxiety arises when a student realizes that math is a demanding study…one that cannot be achieved through a process of cheating.
Prepubescent girls will appreciate the efforts to provide dating advice and glimpses into Danica’s personal experiences as she navigated her teen years. McKellar is to be commended for including testimonials from professional women that illustrate that the study of mathematics can be useful even in glamorous female careers, such as fashion merchandising.
However, it is difficult to take some of the illustrations seriously. For example, to teach the difference between positive and negative integers, McKellar calls them “mint-egers.” A good-tasting mint is a positive integer and a bad-tasting trifle is a negative integer. If you have a negative taste in your mouth, like -6, you can combine it with a positive integer to get 0. She calls it “fuzz-eger” because it’s so smooth.
Do you know a young woman who is struggling with math? This book might help, but keep it away from her dad; he himself will giggle for the rest.
Review by Steven King, MBA, MEd
