Remember Danica McKellar, the young lady better known to millions of fans of the show The Wonder Years as the oh-so sweet Winnie Cooper? Remember how she grew up to be an accomplished mathematician and even has a mathematical physics theorem named after her (The Chayes-McKellar-Winn Theorem)? She also, you might recall, wrote a book for middle school students called Math Doesn't Suck.

Well, now she's gone and done it again. McKellar's latest book is called Kiss My Math and covers the subject of pre-algebra with her signature sass and irreverence. The new book, aimed at girls in grades seven through nine, includes time-saving tips and tricks, real-world examples of interest to teens, and even true stories from McKellar's life as a math student and actress.

McKellar's books challenge the notion that math is a guy's world and prove that you can be smart and gorgeous at the same time, something that girls desperately need to hear. I just hope my niece doesn't read ParentDish, because, if she does, she now knows what she's getting for her birthday.

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Wow, I'm really liking Danica McKellar these days. I mean, consider her list of accomplishments: She did a bang up job playing Winnie Cooper on 'The Wonder Years' way back when. She co-authored the proof of a mathematics theorem. Her math book for middle school girls came out this month. And as if that weren't enough, she's come out publicly stating what has always seemed obvious to me -- smart is cool.

In an upcoming interview in Newsweek magazine, she lashes out at celebrities who eschew intelligence for notoriety. "When girls see the antics of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, they think that being fun and glamorous also means being dumb and irresponsible, but I want to show them that being smart is cool," she said. "Being good at math is cool. And not only that, it can help them get what they want out of life."

In addition to homework and test tips, her new book includes profiles of three beautiful mathematicians (presumably aside from herself.) Her message is simple: "I want to tell girls that cute and dumb isn't as good as cute and smart."

You want a positive role model for your daughters? Here ya go. Could you get any better than this?

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