Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss

by Danica McKellar

The television actress and mathematics guru author of Math Doesn't Suck presents a pre-algebra primer for seventh- to ninth-graders, in an accessible reference that shares time-saving tricks, real-world examples, and detailed practice problems. 100,000 first printing.

Genres: Mathematics, Nonfiction, Education, Reference, Childrens, Middle Grade, Stem

352 pages, Hardcover

First published August 5, 2008

About the author

American actress and mathematician.

She is best known for her role as Winnie Cooper in the television show The Wonder Years.
Now she is known as author of the nationally bestselling book, Math Doesn't Suck, which encourages and empowers middle-school girls with mathematics know-how.
Math Doesn't Suck was so popular McKellar wrote more novels about math, including Kiss My Math and Hot X. She also wrote a sequel to Math Doesn't Suck for years 6 through 9.
McKellar shows many people that just because you are an actor, that doesn't mean you are stupid. Although she is best known through The Wonder Years, that doesn't mean she isn't a wonderful writer and great mathematician.

Reviews

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband is a college math professor. He also runs a math tutoring site. His mother is a high school math teacher. My mother majored in math in college but later switched to marketing research. Math has always been part of my life. Even before I met my husband I never had the sense of math being a "boy thing." Nor do I remember being intimidated by it, except for a brief time in 5th grade where reciprocals were a completely alien concept.

That said, I am aware that many young women have felt intimidated by math and I've witnessed the extra competitiveness women are put through in college when they chose to major in math. Why they should have to prove themselves is nonsensical and maddening.

So when I saw Kiss My Math by Danica McKellar on prominent display at my local library I had to check it out. No, I wasn't thinking about the actress who played Winnie on The Wonder Years when I checked out the book. No, I was thinking, "A math book aimed only a girls, how insulting!" After that I took a calming breath, counted to ten, and decided I should read the book before I passed judgment on it.

By the end of the first chapter though, I was madly in love with the book. First and foremost, McKellar includes many personal stories about how she ended up majoring in math and how she struggled with the subject in junior and senior high school. So the book is part memoir along with being a pre-Algebra book.

The book is written in a chatty style with it's own over the top lingo in the same vein as the Georgia Nicholson books by Louise Rennison. The math though, is solid. The instruction is given in an engaging and humorous way and there are enough problem sets to help the lessons stick.

I loved the book so much that when I heard about Hot X coming out, I put it on my wishlist. I now have an ARC to read and review in the upcoming months.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

McKellar got me to do something I thought I would never do - like math! Her lessons are the most intelligible and creative I've seen. I'm an adult trying to bulk up my puny math skills and the examples focusing on the everyday usefulness of pre-algebra (for example, using the distributive property to avoid being ripped off) were especially helpful to me.

This book can be used as a reference book, but since each chapter builds on the previous one, I recommend reading it straight through if time permits. What else can I say? Kiss My Math!

[Tess .B · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book makes as much sense as danica being on dancing with the stars. girlboss vibes

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend had lent me this book, Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss, a long time ago... I sat down and finally perused it today. There are so many positive reasons to buy this book: Danica McKellar (Winnie on The Wonder Years) is the author, she has a math degree, AND she tells it like it is!


I loved the character of Winnie on The Wonder Years. She was nerdy, smart and the kind of kid I thought I was. It seems to me Danica is similar in a lot of ways to her character. Not so much nerdy, but she's definitely smart. The way her book is written is very reflective of how I teach and interact with students. I truly love her message to young ladies: IT'S OKAY TO BE SMART AND SHOW IT!


Integrated within the awesome math advice is even more awesome life advice: how to talk to teachers, managing stress, choosing friends wisely. This book is so much more than a math aid... it's a life aid. This is a book I will not only be recommending to my students, but also insisting my daughter reads it. Well, when she can read, and is in Algebra!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 2nd book that McKellar wrote about math (I read them out of order) and it's definitely written for the girl student. I like how she uses different names for math topics, like Mints for Integers, Pandas for PEMDAS, for instance. In each chapter dedicated to each math topic of pre-algebra (a good refresher for us adults), there are Quick Notes, Watch Outs, Reality Math, Takeaway Tips, and What's It Called? that has a drawing next to each of those sections. This aspect of it makes it appeal more to the female crowd, and I liked the cartoon tie-in to the name of the section. The other nice thing about this book is that you don't have to read the book in chapter order, in fact, you can jump around. There are even famous women testimonials on how they use math in their careers. I definitely think that middle school girls would like this book.

[Ryan]

Read through a few chapters to see if I could use this with a student who's struggling with math. I can't, but not because of any shortcomings of the book; he's just far outside the target audience (45 year old construction worker, rather than high school girl).

If you are a high school girl, though, and are struggling with math, I could see it being a useful book. McKellar is great at describing concepts in a way that's simple, without being simplistic, is never pandering or patronizing, and has lots of metaphors that I think teenagers might find useful (describing variables in terms of a blind date, for example, and explaining order of operations with pandas).

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

A condescension to young women.



Grow up to be Joan Birman if you want, girls. She began her mathematical career AFTER raising 3 kids, then lit the world on fire with beauty.
https://www.math.columbia.edu/~jb/my-...



By the way, here is the paper McKellar famously coauthored. http://danicamckellar.com/pdf/percola... Knowledgeable opinion obviously ranks this far below Mirzkani, Birman, Starkston, and so on. (list of women mathematicians https://qr.ae/TUn1yh)

[Babysbreath09 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was going back to school to change my degree at 28 and I found this guide to be helpful in boosting my confidence I could get back to college math again. What a fun guide for anyone that needs a math buddy!

[Angelina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, if only we had this book when I was a kid. I know I would have done so much better in math. Danica McKellar does a wonderful job simplifying this complex subject. I still refer to this book every now and then.

[Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taught me more than my teacher had this whole year

[Julie Akeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm surprised I was in touch with most of the material, but one issue it uncovered is my difficulty with story problems but I was able to work things out, I need more problem practice but I'm finally starting to see patterns and set ups that are familiar but this recovering mathphobe has a bit to go but I'm not having panic attacks and I just need to practice on concentration, but I was able to help my daughter in reducing fractions since I read her other book that covered that. Great series maybe she should go for College Algebra.

[Miranda Summerset · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 STARS! I feel so much smarter after this. I loved "Math Doesn't Suck" & want to keep testing myself & never thought I'd actually enjoy doing prealgebra. But, Danica has this wit & charm that adds so much flair & makes you feel like she's sitting right with you just doing some easy brain exercises. This book is simple to understand & I highly recommend this to schoolkids & anyone wanting to test their smarts. I think I'm a math nerd now.

[Marlena Dobbin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Math has always been my least liked subject. I do however love this book. It was fun to read and very clear. It is geared towards adolescent or teenage girls but anyone who struggles with math would enjoy this book.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable tool for teaching confidence and concepts. "If you are close enough to share a term, you are part of the same term."

[angus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saved my LIFE when I took pre-algebra in high school.

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to relearn math after 35 years to help my nephew with college math. These books are written for preteen & teen girls, but don't let that deter you because they are excellent sources for learning or relearning math. I got them from the library first, but then bought the 1st three for reference.

Ms. McKellar goes into exacting detail to explain why something is done to numbers without dumbing down the material. I've gone through Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail, Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss, and Hot X: Algebra Exposed. Looking forward to Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape. Wish she had an Algebra II and/or College Algebra and hope she keeps writing these excellent books!

[Shreya Ganguly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate math. English is my favorite subject. When I read Kiss My Math by Danica Mckellar, I felt like I was reading a math textbook for school. The author of this book is a mathematician. The writing style could have been improved upon. The author could have used better vocabulary and language. However, I enjoyed reading this non-fiction self help book. This book turned out to be a memoir. There were stories,which turned out to be appealing. You don’t have to read this book in chronological order. You can start by reading the chapter of your interest. The author used humor, which I appreciate. It took me a little longer than usual to finish reading this book. I used this book as a guide to completing my math homework. I found this book helpful. Danica shared her experiences with us. All in all, I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.

[Rosalía · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has been a long long time since I took a Math class; but compared to math textbooks, Danica McKellar's book was wonderfully written. It was humorous, age-appropriate, thorough, and informative. The only reason for my removal of a couple stars is that I'm not a pre-teen and not completely relating to pre-teen paraphernalia. It's a great text, though, if you have a young girl entering High School or junior High School math.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this to anyone who has trouble on Pre-Algebra {And most of this stuff is in Algebra 1, as well}. It's really helpful to have a girls point of view on things and stuff most of us enjoy {example below}.

{ex; For Distributive Property she used an example of a costume party. The parenthesis as the walls of a house and had 'a' be Ariel, 'b' be Bride and 'c' be cat, so it would look like this: 1) a ( b + c ) {Ariel just arrived} 2) ab + ac (Ariel sad hi to everyone, and so on)}

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Analogies of math concepts that especially appeal to high school girls, but I got something out of them even in my thirties. Even when the analogies are a bit over-the-top.

I talked about this book on my blog: http://www.nomoremathphobia.com/195/b...

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Danica's view on math. She encourages girls to study hard and be proud of their smarts.

Many of the concepts are concepts I teach my middle and high school students. I think next year I may try some of her techniques in order to reach my students in another way.

Definite must read for any math teacher and for girls struggling in middle school math.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I was a female. As it is, this is a great book for teaching pre-algebra. Danica does a great job of coming up with new shortcuts and ways to remember the concepts. I particularly liked her new approach to PEMDAS and multiplying/dividing with inequalities.

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not well in pre-algebra, and I'm hoping to pick up a little mathematically, to stay ahead of the Offspring.

***

The math is great, written in a very clear expository style. The packaging is a little to self-consciously cute for me, too girly, and I don't care for the quizzes and such which might be a big hit with the middle school audience it's aimed at.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in the same annoying style of the first Danica McKellar book, but now I kind of get pre-algebra. Why can't somebody write something like this for grownup girls? If I understood math, I would write it myself.

[Allanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

More girl-powering insights to math and how to make it submit to your will.

Okay, not really ... but it does help you see HOW math is useful and why some of the rules work the way they do.

I like that McKellar is helping math seem lots less scary. Good on her!

[Jim Grasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Try to make Algebra and Pre-Algebra seem easier with shortcuts and tricks to memorize math rules. Generally a different and helpful approach to getting kids to understand (and enjoy)Algebra principles.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This approach to pre-algebra is brilliantly written for its target audience of 7th grade girls. For the rest of us some "role-playing" may be needed to get through it. Contains many wonderful tips for learning and remembering problem solutions.

[7709mei · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was very helpful especially people who think math is boring. When I saw the title of the book i thought that it sounded weird. The book makes you calm down when you are taking a math test. It prepares you to take one.

[Lolly K Dandeneau]

I am hopeless at Math and it's the only way I can get my daughter to understand it, because I sure as hell suck at teaching it!

[Kaytrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Math??????!