Books

Danica McKellar Is Our Bookish Mathematician Hero

Is it just me, or are actresses who do something other than act just the greatest? Emma Watson works as a goodwill ambassador. Mayim Bialik is a neuroscientist. And Danica McKellar is writing eight children's books about math, because she's a freakin' mathematician.

McKellar's best known as the actress who portrayed Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years . But the UCLA alum graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of science in mathematics, which she uses to encourage girls and young women to stick with STEM studies. To that end, she's written four books aimed at middle grades and high school girls: Math Doesn't Suck, Kiss My Math, Hot X, and Girls Get Curves.

Look, I was an English major, and those titles make math sound cool to me.

Now, McKellar has scored a deal with Random House Children's Books to pen eight titles that "will bring early math concepts to toddlers through third graders." There are plans for two series: picture books for toddlers and longer works for second- and third-graders.

Exact titles have yet to be released, but GalleyCat reports that we can expect to see the first of McKellar's new books on store shelves in Spring 2017.