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

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
From the author of the runaway bestseller Math Doesnt Suck, the next step in the math curriculum-- pre-Algebra.

Last year, actress and math genius Danica McKellar made waves nationwide, challenging the math nerd stereotypeand giving girls the tools to ace tests and homework in her unique just-us-girls style. Now, in Kiss My Math, McKellar empowers a new crop of girls7th to 9th graderstaking on the next level of mathematics: pre-Algebra.

Stepping up not only the math, but also the sass and style, Kiss My Math will help math-phobic teenagers everywhere chill out about math, and finally get negative numbers, variables, absolute values, exponents, and more. Each chapter features:

Step-by-step instruction
Time-saving tips and tricks
Illuminating practice problems with detailed solutions
Real-world examples
True stories from Danicas own life as a student and actress

Kiss My Math also includes more fun extras--including personality quizzes, reader polls, and real-life testimonials-- ultimately revealing why pre-Algebra is easier, more relevant, and more glamorous than girls think.

Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Buy this for your daughter August 7, 2008
22 out of 25 found this review helpful

This funny math book teaches girls that it's OK to be smart, and that they are perfectly capable of kicking a little pre-algebra butt.

McKellar takes a lightweight approach to math, but is deadly serious about it. In the prologue, she writes that "lots of people change their majors and abandon their dreams just to avoid a couple of math classes in college." Girls in particular, she emphasizes, often use their fear of math to keep them from learning the skills they'll need to succeed in life, and they start backing away from the subject in middle school.

And it's not just fear. Girls often don't see how they'll use math once they get out of school. Testimonials in Kiss My Math fight this. Stephanie Perry, the finance director for Essence magazine, explains how she uses algebraic formulas to stay on top of the magazine's financial performance. Jane Davis, financial strategist at Polo Ralph Lauren, was hired as an assistant buyer because of her facility with math. She describes determining inventory over time by finding the mean of a list of numbers.

McKellar -- famous for playing Winnie Cooper in the "The Wonder Years" but also a summa cum laude math graduate from UCLA -- uses simple language and lots of illustrations to teach pre-algebra. Each chapter covers a single topic, such as the distributive property or exponents. She clearly explains each topic, and includes problems for the reader to solve (answers are in the back). The author is generous with helpful notes and shortcuts.

A lively, breezy writing style makes it seem as if McKellar is sitting next to the reader. She uses examples girls can relate to, like clothes shopping, working on the school play, blind dates, parties, kissing and breath mints. It's like having the perfect math tutor. (I'm not a middle school girl, of course, but I just got finished having one. My daughter is starting high school this month.)

Especially good are the entries called Danica's Diary, which are true stories from the author's life as a student, actress and mathematician. One is titled: Dumbing Ourselves Down for Guys: Why is it so Tempting? McKellar gives practical advice on how girls can avoid this common pitfall.

I can't think of a better book to buy for a girl taking pre-algebra.

Here's the chapter list:

Part 1: Number Stuff
Chapter 1: Breath Mint, Anyone? Adding and Subtracting Integers (Including Negative Numbers).
Chapter 2: The Popular Crowd. The Associative and Commutative Properties.
Chapter 3: Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall... Multiplying and Dividing Integers (Including Negative Numbers!)
Chapter 4: A Relaxing Day at the Spa. Intro to Absolute Value.
Chapter 5: Long-Distance Relationships: Are They Worth It? Mean, Median, Mode.
You Said: Most Embarrassing Moments in School
Poll: What Guys Really Think... About Smart Girls
Quiz: Are You a Stress Case?

Part 2: Variable Stuff
Chapter 6: The Blind Date. Getting Cozy with Variables.
Chapter 7: Backpack Too Heavy? Adding and Subtracting with Variables.
Chapter 8: Something Just Went "Squish." Multiplying and Dividing with Variables.
Chapter 9: Do You Like Him Like Him? Combining Like Terms.
Chapter 10: The Costume Party. The Distributive Property.
Chapter 11: Didn't That Guy Say He Was Going to Call? Using Variables to Translate Word Problems.
More Than 20 Ways to Beat Stress
Math... In Jobs You Might Never Expect!

Part 3: Solving for X
Chapter 12: The Art of Gift Wrapping. Solving Equations.
Chapter 13: Nope, She Never Gets Off the Phone. Word Problems and Variable Substitution.
Chapter 14: Can a Guy Be Too Cute? Intro to Solving and Graphing Inequalities.
You Said: Your Horror Stories About Procrastination
Poll: What Guys Really Think... About Talented Girls
Quiz: Do You Pick Truly Supportive Friends?

Part 4: All About Exponents
Chapter 15: Champagne and Caviar. Intro to Exponents.
Chapter 16: Excuse Me, Have We Met Before? Intro to Variables with Exponents.
You Said: Well... That Didn't Work!
Do You Sudoku?

Part 5: Intro to Functions and Graphing Lines
Chapter 17: Secret Sausages. Intro to Functions.
Chapter 18: Creative Uses for Bubblegum. Intro to Graphing Points and Lines.

A Final Word
Math Test Survival Guide!

5 out of 5 stars

Great inspirational book for middle school girls August 11, 2008
7 out of 12 found this review helpful

I gave this book to a niece and she absolutely loved it. Danica makes math fun, accessible and memorable. Her favorite parts are the testimonials where young women show that it is okay to be successful. This women such as Martha Tellez and Crystal McKellar are now her roles models. This book is highly recommended for all girls approaching pre-algebra.

5 out of 5 stars

why does a celebrated actree write math books? November 16, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Danica McKellar is a beautiful actress who is probably very well off and successful. So why did she go to UCLA to study math after being a very successful child star on the wonder years and then bother to write a book entitled Math Doesn't Suck. Well it is because she wanted to prove she was more than just a good looking actress. She had a brain and could handle math. The attitude that math is not for the ladies was a horrible prejudice in my high school years and even in this enlightened age we haven't quite gotten over it and many a capable young lady lacks the confidence and courage to try to do math. Danica is a rol model who proves that they can. Her first book was so successful and helped young middle school girls overcome their fears and lkearn that math is not really hard and can be fun and interesting whenit is approached in the riht way. So math does not suck! But in addition to convincing young girls and boys that they can learn it she became encouraged to write another book based on the encouraging emails from young ladies who benefitted from the book. Well love of math should not end with middle school and algebra, geometry and calculus are very different form the kind of math you learn in the elementary and middle schools that a good series of lectures in pre-algebra is needed to help those who become discouraged again in high school. It bothers Danica to see a girlfriend of hers give up on medical school just because calculus is required. So in the same interesting style as her first book Danica interest the high schoolers with concepts like negative numbers, mathematical inequalities, exponential functions and much more. By uncovering the mysteries of pre-algebra Danica unlocks the door to advanced levels of mathematics that students in high school need. This book is good for high school teachers and anyone else with an interest in mathematics. But it is aimed at and can help most high school girls who are capable of doing well in math and nedd it for the careers they seek, like med school.

5 out of 5 stars

wonderful August 26, 2008
6 out of 9 found this review helpful

My daughter is already on chapter 3 and we received this book on Friday (I'm trying not to swamp her with "extra" work). At first, she tried to tell me she remembered all about intergers, she did not read the first chapter and brought me the review exercises ALL WRONG. I told her to read the chapter and THEN do the work.

I was not surprised when she came back to me and said, "this isn't like a regular math book, it makes sense!" She's hooked now, and I'm so thankful that Danica is a smart, pretty girl who is down to earth and not afraid to be smart! It's difficult to find a solid roll model these days!

5 out of 5 stars

A Fun and Useful Book! September 3, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Danica's book is a gem. Her love for math is infectious. Math doesn't have to be a drag. Danica makes it fun: she'll make you laugh. She's sort of like a girlfriend who's all giggly about her boyfriend, but it's math.

I know the feeling -- it's the feeling of knowing something so well that you just want to share it. Danica's confidence will inspire confidence in her young readers. Plus, Danica gives young readers tools for raising self-esteem: a stress survey that young readers will surely appreciate, and a friends survey. Danica knows that self-esteem starts with self-approval, and if you can manage stress and have supportive friends, you'll have the confidence to succeed.

Here's what Danica wrote on her website: "My main concern with mathematics in high school is that there's a lot of fear involved! Math is not, generally speaking, presented in a fun way. The concepts, as I see them, ARE fun, and that's the way I'd like to convey them myself."

Danica has taken the concepts behind pre-algebra and presented them in a whole new way. Coefficients and variables get cozy and kiss, and absolute values are like a soothing sauna. You'd never know that integers fall into minty ranges, from ooky Harry Potter flavors (on the negative side of the number line) to yummy raspberry and orange (on the positive). And there's a reason for that. Read the book and find out what that reason is!

Kiss My Math isn't meant to replace a school textbook -- it's more like a supplement, and hopefully it will make reading your regular textbook more fun, plus, it should give you a new angle on your homework! Danica is careful never to make math seem simpler than it is, or trivial. Math is basically hard work, and Danica will make you work! She's even kind of sassy and bossy sometimes!

This book is written for girls, and Danica's advice is: don't dumb yourselves down! You can be a math scholar and still be popular. The thing is, have fun and be creative. If you don't like using x's and y's for variables, go ahead and use little flower and heart symbols. You can use whatever you want as long as you follow the rules!

Pre-algebra and algebra are lifelong skills, as revealed by so many women who share their stories in Danica's book. Plus, Danica shares a few stories of her own, never straying far from math, and always bringing things back to what you need to know. So why not have fun while you learn?

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