Math Doesn't Suck

  • Danica McKellar
Hudson Street Press: $23.95

Winnie Cooper has written a maths book? This is improbable for two reasons. Winnie was a fictional character in the American 1980s TV series The Wonder Years and she was more interested in boys than in education. Yet Winnie Cooper, otherwise known as the actress Danica McKellar, is the author of Math Doesn't Suck (10–14 years).

McKellar offers study tips and encouragement for the girl who just isn't into maths, or doesn't see how it relates to her life. She also writes for that brainy girl who needs reassuring that being great with logic and numbers doesn't mean you are nerdy. Like a teen magazine for the mathematics classroom, Math Doesn't Suck empowers young girls with a funny, light and interesting tone.

As a middle-school maths teacher and mother, I see the daily struggle of girls who say, as the talking Barbie doll of the 1990s used to, “maths is hard, let's go shopping!”. McKellar speaks to those kids with chapters such as, 'You Can Never Have Too Many Shoes' to teach multiples, and 'Is Your Sister Trying to Cheat You out of Your Fair Share?' to explain how to compare and convert fractional slices of pizza. Each chapter reinforces a single topic, from adding basic fractions to solving pre-algebra word problems.

She adds maths horoscopes, tips, quizzes ('Are you a Mathophobe?') and testimonials from girls who used to think that maths “sucked” and who now love the subject. There is even a troubleshooting guide that includes web pages, help and other extras, and a linked website with more resources. McKellar also offers alternative strategies for multiple learning styles. Although this book can't replace a great teacher, it certainly helps support school instruction.

Math Doesn't Suck connects the ideas taught in the classroom to a young teen's daily life. My favourite example is how to find the 'Greatest Crush Factor', or GCF. She compares the factors that made her like her old “crush” with what makes her like her new crush. She lists the factors, circling what they have in common, identifying the greatest thing they have in common — et voilà, GCF.

Is it sexist to do whatever it takes to make sure that a girl likes maths early on in her education in order to pursue it as a career, or even to simply like it recreationally? I don't think so. Positive female role models such as McKellar — who embrace mathematics as a part of everyday life, and are still funny and cool — let a key audience know that it's okay to be great at mathematics.

Today's teenage girl may have no idea who Winnie Cooper is, but Winnie knows her!