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sde's review against another edition
5.0
Based on the covers of Danica McKellar's books - glamorous author and goofy names - I never would have picked them up, although I suppose the point is to appeal to teen girls, not their middle-aged mothers. When I learned that McKellar is an award-winning scientist/mathematician with a theorem named after her, I looked twice.
I love this book! It explains concepts in several different ways so if you or your child don't understand one explanation, you can move to another one. It also has lots of shortcuts and tips that make math easier. Scattered throughout all her math books are vignettes about women who have exciting jobs that use math, how to deal with test anxiety, and why being smart is cool.
There are not many practice problems in this book. The author did this on purpose - she states in the introduction that there are lots of resources for more problems. This book is more of an explanation of how math works. There are a small number of problems - about 5 - in each section. What I do with my daughter is have her to the problems in the book. If she does them with no trouble, we move on the the next section. If she has trouble, I find problems on the topic in other math books for her to practice.
The style is breezy and chatty, and might get annoying to adults or serious math students after a while. It is also very much oriented to girls, which in one sense is good because it makes girls feel comfortable with math and holds their interest. On the other hand, her tips and approaches would be useful for all students, so parents and teachers may want to use the ideas to help all students even if boys wouldn't be caught dead reading it themselves.
I love this book! It explains concepts in several different ways so if you or your child don't understand one explanation, you can move to another one. It also has lots of shortcuts and tips that make math easier. Scattered throughout all her math books are vignettes about women who have exciting jobs that use math, how to deal with test anxiety, and why being smart is cool.
There are not many practice problems in this book. The author did this on purpose - she states in the introduction that there are lots of resources for more problems. This book is more of an explanation of how math works. There are a small number of problems - about 5 - in each section. What I do with my daughter is have her to the problems in the book. If she does them with no trouble, we move on the the next section. If she has trouble, I find problems on the topic in other math books for her to practice.
The style is breezy and chatty, and might get annoying to adults or serious math students after a while. It is also very much oriented to girls, which in one sense is good because it makes girls feel comfortable with math and holds their interest. On the other hand, her tips and approaches would be useful for all students, so parents and teachers may want to use the ideas to help all students even if boys wouldn't be caught dead reading it themselves.
stevewhitaker's review against another edition
3.0
Great for what it's meant to be - and particularly useful to me as the parent of a rising middle-schooler.
frootjoos's review against another edition
3.0
Really geared toward the middle school female set but useful when I need to explain math to adults who can't round off decimals properly. (aaauuuuugggghhhh.)
crankylibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
As the mathphobic daughter-in-law and sister-in-law of several male mathematicians, this breezy yet tremendously helpful book made me sit up and take notice. A reminder that there are many ways to teach and to learn.
melissasarahrobinson's review against another edition
5.0
While it's unlikely that a math-phobe will suddenly love math after reading this book written by the actress who played Winnie Cooper in the Wonder Years, Math Doesn't Suck is accessible, offers good hints, and is entertaining. Best of all McKellar doesn't condescend to the middle school girls who are her audience. Highly recommended!
purposelyvague's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't finish this one, I stopped midway. I was trying to determine if this was worth buying for my stepdaughters. I think Danica does a great job taking a subject that is not normally very interesting for girls and explains it in a way that is almost fun. Some of the lines can be a little cheesy, but she provides great step-by-step instructions and mnemonic devices. I think this would be a valuable aid for the student who would use it.
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