Who Is Taylor Swift?

Who Was . . . ? Series

by Kirsten Anderson, Who H.Q., Gregory Copeland (Illustrator)

Learn how a young girl who lived on a Christmas tree farm grew up to become one of the most celebrated musical artists of the twenty-first century in this addition to the #1 New York Times Best-Selling Series.

Taylor Swift always knew she wanted to be a country music artist, so at age thirteen, she convinced her parents to move their family out of Pennsylvania to Nashville.

As a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Taylor wrote songs about teenage heartbreak and fitting in with her peers, and she performed these and other tunes at open mic nights and karaoke events. Breaking into the music industry took longer than she expected because record executives thought there was no place in country music for her songs. But Taylor was fearless and proved them wrong.

Since the release of her self-titled debut album in 2006, Taylor Swift has dominated the music charts, reinvented her sound, won numerous awards, shaken off public criticism, and spoken up for herself and others.

Whether you're a lifelong Swiftie or someone who just loves learning about musicians, this enchanting book will teach you all about the experiences that helped Taylor Swift become the successful superstar many kids and adults looks up to.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Middle Grade, Music, Childrens, Audiobook, Biography Memoir

112 pages, Paperback

Published April 2, 2024

Reviews

[Anabelle Bays · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I read this entire thing in Barnes. It counts.

[Jodi]

Incredibly informative for how short it is! Well researched. Obviously this is for children so it glossed over a lot of the more controversial elements of her personal life/career which was very fun to input for myself - namely when her MySpace page was mentioned, which was notoriously in direct opposition of her "good girl" image (iykyk). The "Timeline of Taylor Swift" paired with the "Timeline of the World" was incredible (Midnights came out the same year Russia invaded Ukraine! Those certainly are two important things!).

My issues with the book: Taylor Swift presented as the "ultimate girl's girl" when it is well-documented how often she has put down other women to lift herself up (Anderson didn't need to include any examples, but she didn't need to make it seem like Taylor Swift is some sort of beacon of girl power when she really only uses [white] feminism when it helps her personally). No mention of Taylor Swift's carelessness in regards to her environmental impact. There are multiple pages in this book that cover Taylor Swift's political power when she largely chooses to wield none.

I am a huge fan of Taylor Swift's work but there was no nuance when I believe there could have been, even for the ages of the intended audience. That being said, I love that Kim Kardashian's snake tweet and a sketch of Kanye West interrupting Taylor at the 2009 VMAs are immortalized in a Who Was? book.

TW: Disordered eating (mentioned very briefly)

[Alyssa Critchfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give it 4⭐️ because it talks about her personal life throughout the whole book but then doesn’t mention that she’s happy and in love again at the end?!? Lol

[Abbie Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great bio for young readers ❤️‍🔥

[alayna ₊˚ෆ ! · Rating 5 out of 5]

who was taylor swift? she was the music industry baby. ❤️‍🔥

[RaQuel Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book but thought there could have been more details about her life. I thought this book just skimmed the surface....

[Jaden Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My queen 🫶🏼

[Grace, Queen of Crows and Tomes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect

[Kayla Craft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously 5 ⭐️’s. It’s all about Taylor’s life 🙃

[faith𝜗𝜚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

i ❤️ my mother

[Rachel Pergamit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid, accessible biography about the pop star Taylor Swift. Loved the photo illustrations. Strangely absent: any mention of Jack Antonoff.

[Jamie Bronstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book as a joke present for my husband, who is always going on about how much he loves "Tay Tay," as he calls Taylor Swift. I did in fact learn all about Taylor Swift, but did not find the book to be a compelling read; it has all the vibrancy of a wikipedia page. I know we are not the demographic for this series though--it is surely of high interest if you are in elementary or middle school.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these Who is/What is/Where is books! They give concise information so you learn quickly about a subject. I admire Taylor Swift for her business sense & her loyalty to family & friends.

[Taylynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solid book for people who didn’t grow up with Taylor Swift. As someone who was young when she became popular I knew most of the facts but I did learn some things.

[the.bookish.kingdom · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was very short but interesting read. I liked that some of the scenes were followed along by drawings. At the end, it also had a place to write your Swifty thoughts in it. This book made me want to sit and listen each of Taylor’s songs and also find out more about the dramas she was involved in, like the one with Katy Perry. It’s a must have for Swifty👱🏼‍♀️💖
Format:📓
הספר התקבל לסקירה

[Lucy Graf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this as a Christmas present, it was good, just a little below my reading level 😂

[Rhiannon]

I'm gonna be so real with y'all, I could have written this SO much better.

[catie · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10

[Lisa Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book even though it didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know. It does an excellent job of summarizing the past 20 years of Taylor's career and what makes her such a great role model. The book uses sensitive language to make all of the content appropriate for kids by describing Kanye West's mature lyrics as "saying things Taylor didn't like" and discussing a controversial court case as someone "touching Taylor in a way that made her feel uncomfortable." It does a really good job of covering all the major events in Taylor's life while staying kid-friendly.

[Aggie12345 Llewellyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute book!!! Literally got it from the library and read it in one sitting (I mean it is meant for children, but not the point)

It gave me some info on things I didn’t know about, but mostly I loved the step by step from each era and how much they honed in on her being on songwriter more than a singer and I loved that

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Factual, done in an easy way for kids to understand. Plus nothing stated in the book will make it age poorly (no statements like "current boyfriend", "Highest earning album she's ever written", etc, things like that that can/ will change as time goes on). The little drawings throughout are also fun.

[Cami Bibliophilec]

Muy entretenido para quienes quieran informarse sobre la vida de Tay, no me enteré de nada nuevo, pero fue lindo recordar sus comienzos, al igual que situaciones que vivió y la hicieron llegar hasta donde está hoy en día :)

[Alice-Anne]

When you spend all evening reading alongside your 3rd grader for a school assignment, you count it on your yearly Goodreads goal! 😆 this was actually pretty interesting. Kind of interesting to see how stardom comes about. And the biggest announcement didn’t even make this 2024 edition. 😉

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evie and I enjoyed learning more about Taylor Swift’s life and how she has used her immense success to change the music industry.

[Kloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awww cute

[Heather Minson]

Cute little read! Happy to add this to my WhoHQ collection in my classroom library. I’m excited to share this with my Swifties at school!

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Taylor Swift, and I liked how informative this book was despite it's short length.

[Jorgeie:D · Rating 2 out of 5]

The wording.

[pbmcay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this as Christmas present and read it to my family! I love Taylor Swift!!!!!

[Jada Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much it’s really cool to see most of Taylor swifts life and how she became her