The to-Do List

By Rachel Leibrock, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

Jul. 31–PLAY

Girl-powered: With more than 600,000 visits per day, StarDoll.com is a MySpace alternative for girls ages 7-17. In addition to various social networking tools (personalized home page, etc.), StarDoll lets users design their own MeDolls and then deck out virtual “suites” with pets, furniture and accessories. There also are tons of celebrity avatars (everyone from Dylan and Cole Sprouse to Gwen Stefani), a magazine and a storefront.

READ

Add it up: Barbie once infamously proclaimed that “math is hard.” And maybe it is, but don’t let numbers anxiety turn you into a space case like that empty-headed plastic doll . A new book by TV alum Danica McKellar (“The Wonder Years”) puts the subject into clearer focus — “Math Doesn’t Suck: How to Survive Middle-School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail” (Hudson Street Press, $23.95, 256 pages). Here, McKellar, who majored in math in college, not only offers tips on how to study and prepare for exams, but also profiles several successful female mathematicians.

SURF

Reality bites: Yes, her name really is Rachel Ray and yes, she really is an entertaining diva — but without the extra “a.” This Rachel Ray (rachelrayfamily.blogspot.com) serves us her thoughts on motherhood, marriage and more. But wait, it’s recipes you really want? Then check out Ray’s cooking blog, Pimp My Dinner (pimpmydinner.blogspot.com).

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