Random House Children’s Books to Publish a New Line of Books From Actress, Mathematician, and Bestselling Author Danica McKellar
New York, NY — Random House Children’s Books has acquired a new line of kid-friendly math books from New York Times bestselling author Danica McKellar, it was announced today by Barbara Marcus, President & Publisher, Random House Children’s Books. The deal for eight books with world rights was made by Emily Easton, Executive Editor at Crown Books for Young Readers, with Laura Nolan at Kuhn Projects, LLC. Easton will edit the books, with the first title scheduled for publication in Spring 2017.
Danica McKellar is the author of several New York Times bestselling books, including Math Doesn’t Suck, Kiss My Math, Hot X: Algebra Exposed!, and Girls Get Curves. Her books resonate with young people because they put math in real-world scenarios, and she has long been an outspoken role model encouraging young women to excel in math. McKellar graduated summa cum laude in mathematics from UCLA, then coauthored a math theorem later published as the Chayes-McKellar-Winn Theorem.
McKellar’s new titles from Crown will bring early math concepts to toddlers through third graders. She will introduce these basic concepts and skills in a fun and memorable way, with two separate series aimed at different age groups. The first will be a story-based picture book series for toddlers that parents can read to their children again and again. The books will show math as a natural part of life, in real-world scenarios and with adorable illustrations. Crown will also publish McKellar’s second series of titles, for second and third graders, which will tackle the math concepts that students at this age struggle with the most, in an entertaining and innovative format.
In addition to her impressive academic credentials, McKellar is also well known for her work as an actor. She played Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years, had a recurring role on The West Wing, and reached the quarterfinals on Dancing with the Stars in 2014. The New York Times wrote of the actor and author, “McKellar is probably the only person on prime-time television who moonlights as a cyberspace math tutor.”
Says McKellar, “As a homeschooling mom of a five-year-old boy, I’m passionate about making sure kids grow up to embrace math and all it can do for them in their lives. Let’s raise a generation of kids who, from their youngest memories, understand math to be an integral part of their lives—and even a subject they associate with cuddle time and laughter.”
Easton remarks, “Danica has a proven ability to make math concepts not only understandable, but fun and approachable. Her math ‘mission’ dovetails perfectly with Crown’s commitment to publishing innovative books that spark a reader’s curiosity and connection to the world. I look forward to a long partnership!”
You can follow McKellar on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Periscope. @danicamckellar
Random House Children’s Books is the world’s largest English-language children’s trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, ebooks, and apps, the imprints of Random House Children’s Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. The company’s website, Kids @ Random (randomhousekids.com), offers an array of activities, games, and resources for children, teens, parents, and educators. Random House Children’s Books is a division of Penguin Random House LLC.01
