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Friday 8 October 2010


Do you dread maths homework? Panic at the thought of a test? Does maths bore you to tears? Don't worry - help is here! Actress and mathematician Danica McKellar's bestselling guide proves that maths can be easy, relevant and even cool, and gives you all the tools you need to ace your next test. With Danica as your personal tutor, even the most maths-phobic student will finally 'get' fractions, equations, decimals, rates, ratios, proportions, equations and more.
This book has been written by Hollywood actress and a bona fide mathematician, Danica McKellar (of the Wonder Years). She is also a champion of maths learning for girls as it has been found that following primary school, girls find the transition to secondary schools maths difficult

The book is written for teenage girls, in their language, bringing crucial context to mathematical rules, procedures and reasoning.

I was unsure when I saw this book was written by an American. I do not get on with books written from an Americans point of view - using the American slang and jargon, however, I was surprised by this book. Lots of mathematics are included in the book: percentages, fractions, ratios
The book includes problems to solve, with answers given in the book, and detailed workings on the supporting website - great backup support!! There are also some great 'girlie' fun bits - personality quizzes and horoscopes all with a mathematical angle.

The book assumes there is knowledge of both long division and times tables - however, times tables are noted in the back of the book and long division is reviewed on the website (again great back up support).

The book is split into chapters, each one tackling a different mathematical topic. The topic is explained in simple terms, using scenarios and examples a girl would relate to and the problems are worked through in Danica's own handwriting. Each chapter also ends with Danica's takeaway tips, which are summaries of the main points of the chapter in an easy to read format.

As I previously stated I am not too keen on books with too many Americanisms which are trying to teach English subjects, however, I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I think this book is a great idea and will be popular with girls and their parents - I will be recommending it to some of my friends and their daughters and will be keeping it on the book shelf ready for when my daughter reaches high school in a few years.

Thank you to Michael from mychild forum for sending me this book to review.

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