|  | Author: Danica McKellar
Publisher: Hudson Street Press
List Price: $23.95
Buy Used: $4.50
as of 11/23/2009 11:23 CST details
You Save: $19.45 (81%)
New (34) Used (50) Collectible (1) from $4.50
Seller: cbobooks
Rating:  123 reviews
Sales Rank: 41140
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 1594630399
Dewey Decimal Number: 510
EAN: 9781594630392
ASIN: 1594630399
Publication Date: August 2, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Fast Shipping. Cover is torn, wrinkled, missing or book is otherwise damaged. Customer Service is our #1 priority.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 123
 It's all up to the child you buy it for. February 15, 2009
Daniel Delaware (Surprise, Az)
0 out of 7 found this review helpful
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. This is true to a lot of things in life including books. I would like to say that this is a very good book, but I do not know. I did not read it and I do not know if my child really did ether. I'm sure that if this book was geared towards adults it would be a very good book, but it is geared toward kids and with kids it is hard to say weather it is the book or the child when it come to failure or success.
Some might say that it is the parent, but if you have a teenager that does not want to learn than you have a teenager that does not want to learn.
 Inappropriate and unsuitable reading for kids, especially the girls February 3, 2009
Austin Somlo (Vincentown, NJ)
11 out of 43 found this review helpful
A couple of years ago reading in some newspaper, I became aware that Danica McKellar, whom I am familiar with through a television show called The Wonder Years with Fred Savage, earned a degree in mathematics from UCLA and had written a book titled Math Doesn't Suck. It wasn't until now that I happened to spot this book on a shelf at a middle school library, so I got curious and began to read (well...not exactly, I skimmed more than I read) it. The further I got through the pages, the less I liked the book. Danica McKellar should have started the book off with stating the intention of making math less painful for girls only, and most of the pages have this girlishly tone. Let's say...I am okay with this idea, but I really don't approve her concoction of ideas. In that, she succeeds in creating stereotypes of how a girl ought to act, behave, look, and have. There is an endless pushing of the image that a 10 to 13 year girl must have a cute boyfriend, own a cell phone, wear a makeup, look pretty to be dateable enough, have a skinny body figure, and be intelligent. At the same time, there is a feeling that I can't help but feel sorry for others who might be hurt by the perfect Americanized ideal of how a girl should be. She reinforces the idea by inserting the seemingly condescending quotes given by middle school students through the pages. What about the girls who have an obesity problem? What about the girls who have plain or ugly facial features? What about the girls who have an array of disabilities? What about the girls who have serious cognitive problems? What about the girls who are not interested in dating? Danica McKellar seems to have succeeded in ostracizing these kinds of girls because they do not fit the mold. Why is it so important that a 9-, 10-, 11-, 12- year old girl to have a boyfriend? I ask again, why is that so important? Why is it so important that she is to look pretty as much as possible? I am very confused in the aim of the book. Now, for the mathematical portion, well...there is absolutely nothing new in Math Doesn't Suck that I haven't seen in any good book because Danica McKellar covers the same basic stuff: factors, multiples, fractions, decimals, percents, word problems, and algebra. In my own personal opinion of why this stuff are hard for middle school students is that they are either poorly taught or not given an explicitly clear explanation of the lessons. The third problem could be not enough of practice. Back to the negative aspects of the book, I want to add one more. I believe there are pictures of a total of three women who have a career related with mathematics, but I notice something else disturbing: none of them have concealed their skin above their chests. I find the images to be wholly inappropriate, especially for a book targeted for middle school girls. And worst of all, one of them is a middle school teacher with some cleavage showing! Another worst aspect of the book is the presentation of astrology. Come on...it is pseudoscience and has been written off as fraudulent. The science of mathematics is achieved through rigors and proofs in logical sequence of steps. And Danica McKellar throws astrology in the face of mathematics? As for the title of the book and elsewhere in the book, I don't appreciate her usage of the word "suck." All in all, Math Doesn't Suck is not an appropriate reading for kids; however, if she cleaned up the content of her book and make it more kid friendly, that would be great. I doubt this will be achievable because Danica McKellar went on to pose herself through swimsuit modeling, making her a very unsuitable role model. And she offends many of the tireless female teachers who may or may not share the physical beauty as her yet struggle to universally convey the value of mathematics across to the kids.
 Good title, "Math Doesn't Such" January 31, 2009
S. Henshall (Cape Cod, MA)
I bought "Math Doesn't Suck" for my granddaughter, based on a book review in our local newspaper. Liv is a good math student, but I thought a different approach would interest her. Liv's friend had a back operation and would be out of school for several weeks. At Liv's request, I bought a second book for her to give her friend.
I don't like the title... or some of the boy crazy illustrations.. but overall a God send. January 13, 2009
N. Hale (Avon Park, Fl)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
My twelve year old daughter has math phobia to the extreme. After we completed the section on improper fractions and mixed numbers she said, "Oh that's easy." What a great moment when she did her entire math lesson without my help... and made 100 percent.
I highly recommend this book.
Math can be fun!!! (Never thought I'd say that!) December 23, 2008
MJD (Illinois)
I bought this book for my daughter who was struggling with math. I loved Danica on Wonder Years, so I figured it would at least be entertaining. My daughter loves this book, and also the fun quizzes, and the neat tricks she has for remembering functions.
Showing reviews 16-20 of 123
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