♪IT'S
♪IT'S A
♪IT'S A NEW DAY >>> THIS IS NEW DAY NORTHWEST.
>> GOOD MORNING, I'M MARGARET
LARSON, WELCOME ON THIS
BEAUTIFUL MONDAY.
BEAUTIFUL MONDAY. WE START TODAY WITH A FAMOUS
FACE MANY OF YOU WILL REMEMBER.
DANICA McKELLER WAS A YOUNG
ACTRESS WHO PLAYED WINNIE ON
THE WONDER YEARS.
PEOPLE LOVED HER.
WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW
ABOUT HER, SHE'S AN
ACCOMPLISHED MATHEMATICIAN AND
AUTHOR.
AUTHOR.
AUTHOR. I
AUTHOR. I RECENTLY SPOKE TO HER ABOUT A
NEW BOOK THAT IS HELPING TO
DEMYSTIFY MATH FOR KIDS AND
PARENTS.
PARENTS.
PARENTS. >> YOU LOOK EXACTLY LIKE I
IMAGINE WINNIE WOULD HAVE GROWN
UP LOOKING.
UP LOOKING. GREAT TO SEE YOU.
WHAT A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL
SHOW TO BE PART OF.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE
PART OF THIS?
>> PEOPLE SAY ARE YOU TIRED OF
BEING CALLED WINNIE COOPER AND
TIRED OF THE WHOLE THING?
I WENT THROUGH A PHASE WHEN I
WAS A TEENAGER, AND I WAS OVER
IT, BUT IT'S A GOOD THING I GOT
OVER THAT BECAUSE TRULY, IT'S
SUCH A GIFT TO BE PART OF A
SHOW THAT SO MANY PEOPLE LOVED
AND SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE
CHERISHED MEMORIES WITH.
THEY WATCHED IT WITH THEIR
FAMILIES, AND THEY LEARNED LIFE
LESSONS THROUGH IT, AND NOW THE
SAME PEOPLE ARE WATCHING ME ON
THE HALLMARK CHANNEL ON MY
CHRISTMAS MOVIES AND BUYING MY
MATH BOOKS FOR THEIR KIDS.
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL CIRCLE.
>> IT'S A WONDERFUL THING.
>> WE GREW UP TOGETHER, AND WE
ARE STILL DOING THINGS.
>> ADULTS DOING THINGS.
YOU HAVE MADE A NUMBER OF
HALLMARK MOVIES.
HALLMARK MOVIES. FIVE CHRISTMAS MOVIES, WRITTEN
BOOKS, YOU'RE ON YOUR TENTH
BOOK.
BOOK.
BOOK. YOU'RE A MATHEMATICIAN, AND
YOU'RE TRYING TO DEMYSTIFY MATH
A BIT FOR KIDS AND PARENTS, AND
TELL ME ABOUT THE LATEST BOOK.
>> SO, AS WE ARE ALL AWARE,
PARENTS ARE IN AN UNPRECEDENTED
POSITION WHERE THEY HAVE BECOME
MORE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR
KIDS' EDUCATION, AND SO MY
TENTH MATH BOOK.
I HAVE BOOKS 0 TO AGE 16 ON
WEBSITE THIS IS MY TENTH BOOK
FOR THIRD AND FOURTH GRADE OR
SECOND THROUGH FIFTH, ANYONE
LEARNING MULTIPLICATION AND
DIVISION.
DIVISION.
DIVISION. THERE'S A GAP IN MY CURRICULUM,
AND JUST IN TIME, A COUPLE OF
WEEKS AGO, THE BOOK CAME OUT,
AND IT'S LIKE WHAT INCREDIBLE
TIMING.
TIMING.
TIMING. IT'S REALLY NEEDED, AND PARENTS
ARE REALLY STRUGGLING TO HELP
THEIR KIDS WITH THEIR MATH
HOMEWORK BECAUSE THE MATH LOOKS
DIFFERENT FROM HOW WHEN WE WERE
GROWING UP.
GROWING UP. IT'S LIKE, FIRST AND SECOND
GRADE, AND THIS BOOK BEHIND ME,
"DO NOT OPEN THIS MATH BOOK."
THE ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION
TECHNIQUES LOOK DIFFERENT, AND
MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION
LOOKS DIFFERENT.
LOOKS DIFFERENT. I HAVE A MATH TRANSLATION GUIDE
FOR GROWNUPS.
FOR GROWNUPS. >> GOODNESS.
>> GOODNESS. WE FEEL LIKE WE DID OKAY IN
SCHOOL WITH MATH, AND IT WAS
NOT A TOTAL DISASTER, AND YOU
LOOK AT THE NEW WAYS KIDS ARE
LEARNING MATH, AND IT'S JUST A
MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE.
MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE. THEY SERVE AS A TRANSLATION
GUIDE SO KIDS CAN GET HELP FROM
PARENTS WHO FEEL CONFIDENT TO
GIVE IT.
GIVE IT.
GIVE IT. >> THE BOOKS BEHIND ME, MY
McKELLER MATH BOOKS, AND NOT
ALL ARE SHOWN.
THEY ARE COLORFUL.
THE TIMES MACHINE, IT'S LIKE
GRAPHIC NOVEL STYLE CARTOONS
BECAUSE I REALLY LOVE MATH, BUT
I KNOW NOT EVERYONE LOVES MATH,
AND I ALSO LOVE ENTERTAINMENT.
I HAVE BEEN AN ACTRESS MY WHOLE
LIFE, WHY NOT WRITE
ENTERTAINING MATH BOOKS,
ESPECIALLY AS PARENTS ARE
LOOKING FOR RESOURCES TO
SUPPLEMENT THEIR EDUCATION AND
HELP OUT.
HELP OUT.
HELP OUT. A LOT OF LEARNING HAS BEEN
GOING ON.
GOING ON.
GOING ON. EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT THE SUMMER
SLIDE WHERE KIDS FORGET THINGS
OVER THE SUMMER, BUT THERE'S
STUFF THAT WASN'T EVEN LEARNED.
I'M SO GLAD I CAN HELP.
BESIDES MY MATH BOOKS AND
MAKING MATH SUPER FUN AND
ACCESSIBLE, I ALSO HAVE, AND I
HAVE BEEN HOME SCHOOLING MY SON
HIS WHOLE LIFE.
>> I WAS ABOUT TO MENTION THAT.
>> I HAVE VIDEOS ON MY
INSTAGRAM @DANIC AMC KELLAR.
IF YOU GO TO THE CIRCLES ON THE
FRONT, CLICK ON SCHOOL AT HOME,
AND I HAVE A TON OF LITTLE
THINGS THAT I HAVE LEARNED THAT
WORK TO HELP KIDS FOCUS, AND AT
LEAST MY KID, AND I HAVE BEEN
SHARING THE VIDEOS, AND I KNOW
THAT PARENTS NEED THAT RIGHT
NOW.
NOW.
NOW. I'M
NOW. I'M EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO TELL
YOUR AUDIENCE ABOUT THAT.
>> THAT'S SO IMPORTANT BECAUSE
THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN
ALL OF THIS IN SOCIETY AND
AROUND THE PANDEMIC, AND
PARENTS ARE WORKING AND
TEACHING KIDS, AND KIDS ARE
BORED, AND SCHOOL IS DIFFERENT,
AND IT FEELS LIKE YOU KIND OF
CAME ALONG, WAY BEFORE THE
CURVE, AND YOU GOT RIGHT IN
THAT SPACE WHERE WE NEED TO GET
THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, THE
ENCOURAGEMENT, AND I HOPE THE
CONFIDENCE TO HELP KIDS.
>> YEAH, AND THAT'S A GREAT
POINT.
POINT.
POINT. THE CONFIDENCE.
THE CONFIDENCE. EVERY PARENT WANTS TO FEEL
THAT.
THAT.
THAT. EVERY PARENT WANTS TO BE THEIR
KID'S SUPERHERO.
KID'S SUPERHERO. I CAN EXPLAIN THIS AND TELL YOU
HOW IT GOES, AND THAT'S WHY THE
BOOKS, ESPECIALLY DO NOT OPEN
THIS MATH BOOK AND TIME
MACHINE, THE AGES THEY ARE FOR.
FIRST THROUGH SECOND AND SECOND
THROUGH FIFTH GRADE.
IT'S THE AGE WE ARE READING
PICTURE BOOKS WITH OUR KIDS,
AND YOU CAN READ WITH YOUR KID,
AND I WILL RATE A DANICA
CARTOON.
CARTOON.
CARTOON. MR.MOUSE OR MRS. SQUIRREL,
CHARACTERS TO PLAY AND FILL IN
WITH VOICES, AND IT'S FUN.
LET'S MAKE IT ACCESSIBLE AND
FUN FOR PARENTS TO HELP THEIR
KIDS AND TAKE THE SCARY PART
OUT OF MATH.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. I'M ALL FOR THAT, AND I THINK
YOU HIT IT RIGHT ON THE HEAD.
YOUR CREATIVITY AND ARTISTIC
BACKGROUND COMBINED WITH, I
DON'T KNOW IF IT'S UNUSUAL OR
NOT, SOME REAL INTEREST IN MATH
AND MATHEMATICIAN, AND BRINGING
THAT TOGETHER TO MAKE IT MORE
ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE ALL
TOGETHER, BUT I CAN'T LEAVE
WITHOUT ASKING YOU ABOUT THE
REBOOT FOR "THE WONDER YEARS."
I UNDERSTAND IT'S A DIFFERENT
FAMILY IN A DIFFERENT TIME, BUT
WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT
THAT?
THAT?
THAT? >>
THAT? >> FIRST OF ALL, I'M NOT
INVOLVED AT ALL.
I FOUND OUT WHEN FRED TOLD ME
THE NIGHT BEFORE IT WAS
ANNOUNCED TO THE WORLD.
THAT'S THE FIRST I HEARD OF IT.
>> YOUR COSTAR?
>> YEAH, HE E-MAILED ME AND
SAID BY THE WAY, I ALWAYS SAID
WE WOULD NEVER DO A REBOOT, BUT
-- I WAS LIKE, WOW, THAT'S
INTERESTING.
INTERESTING. IT'S GOING TO BE TOLD FROM A
DIFFERENT PROSPECTIVE,
DIFFERENT PROSPECTIVE, DIFFERENT CITY, AND A WHOLE
DIFFERENT WORLD, SO, I MEAN I'M
HOPEFUL IT WILL BOTH HONOR OUR
SHOW AND ALSO REALLY DO JUSTICE
TO THE REALITIES OF GROWING UP
BLACK IN AMERICA IN THE 1960s.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S AN UP
LIFTING SHOW, BUT I'M AN
AUDIENCE MEMBER LIKE YOU GUYS.
I'M HOPEFUL AND HOPING FOR
GREAT THINGS.
GREAT THINGS. WE WILL SEE.
>> I AM, TOO.
I THINK AS YOU MENTIONED YOUR
SHOW TAUGHT A LOT OF PEOPLE A
LOT, AND EXAMINING THE SAME
SORTS OF ISSUES AND NEW ISSUES
FROM THE STANDPOINT OF AN
AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILY IN THE
'60s, BETWEEN THAT AND THE
TIMELINESS OF YOUR MATH HELP,
IT'S JUST BOOM!
THE WONDER YEARS IS COMING BACK
TO SAVE THE DAY AGAIN.
[ LAUGHTER ]
>> WELL, I REALLY HOPE I CAN
SAVE AND HELP A LOT OF PARENTS.
I'M A PARENT MYSELF, AND I KNOW
HOW GREAT IT IS TO BE A PARENT
AND HOW CHALLENGING THAT CAN
BE.
BE.
BE. I
BE. I LOVE THE IDEA THAT I CAN BE
HERE TO HELP PARENTS WHO ARE,
YES, IN AN UNPRECEDENTED
SITUATION.
SITUATION. I HAVE TO MAKE DINNER, TEACH,
AND JUGGLE MY JOB ON TOP OF IT.
>> SHE IS COMPLETELY AMAZING.