I have to say up front that I’ve always loved the ABC television series The Wonder Years. I’ve got just about all of the first three seasons on VHS, taped from the original broadcasts c 1988-1990. Unfortunately, the series has yet to be released as a DVD set due to licensing issues for the music that was used in the series. The soundtrack to the series is so essential, that removing or replacing it from any DVD set would tragic – I don’t know if we will EVER see The Wonder Years on DVD.
All that being said, the actress who played Winnie Cooper in The Wonder Years, Danica McKellar, on this past Tuesday released her second book Kiss My Math. Apparently, Danica’s true passion does not lie in acting, but rather in mathematics. Rather than focusing her school energies on the dramatic arts, she chose to instead concentrate on studying math, physics and statistics. Now, she is on a mission to dispel the belief that mathematics, especially for girls, is not cool. Her first book, Math Doesn’t Suck, was released last year to a primarily middle-school girl audience with the message that “cute and smart is better than cute and dumb.” Now,with Kiss My Math, Danica addresses pre-algebra. I truly support Danica’s mission (I bought Kiss My Math yesterday, to hold onto until K. is old enough to read it herself…) and I am truly encouraged that Danica serves as a positive role model, as opposed to the current string of pop-culture “icons” that have been flooding the media in recent years.
Visit www.kissmymath.com or www.danicamckellar.com for more details.