Most people of a certain generation remember Danica McKellar very fondly from her stint on the WONDER YEARS opposite Fred Savage, Josh Saviano and many others. But she made a name for herself later on in mathematics circles, when as an undergrad she co-authored a math proof and went on to speak around the country on math-related issues.

It's this dual life that led to a profile in the Science Times section of the NYT in July 2005, and to attract the interest of Laura Nolan, a literary agent with Creative Culture. The end result, as reported yesterday on Publishers Marketplace, is MATH DOESN'T SUCK, a primer for middle school-age children and their parents about "how to master many of the tough concepts that are introduced in middle school - the time when young girls begin to shy away from math" that sold to Hudson Street Press.

How did the proposal come about? "When I got in touch with Danica (through her manager), I had a strong idea of what this book could be and she completely agreed my vision," Nolan explained by email. "She then proceeded (with minimal guidance on my part) to write the 46-page proposal completely on her own. Given Danica's schedule as an actress, I thought I would have had to bring in a writer/collaborator, but Danica nailed the proposal almost immediately."

When Nolan began to shop the proposal around, it immediately attracted the interest of several editors. "I think Danica's proposal really spoke to editors because of its tone - she doesn't talk down to young girls and she's completely in tune with the exact moment in the teaching of math when the concepts become difficult. She can explain challenging math concepts in a completely fun and creative way and can bring in fun, pop-culture examples from her past as a child TV star and in her daily life as an actress that can bring even the most difficult concepts to life."

And though Nolan adds that McKellar "would love to write more books on this subject and has many ideas on all the different areas of math she could explore," the deal with Hudson Street Press is for this one book - which should begin to demonstrate that math isn't so hard to grasp for kids.