By Christa Protano
As a Gen X mom, I had very little knowledge about Taylor Swift when she embarked on her Eras Tour a year and a half ago. But that all changed once my eight-year-old daughter discovered the popular song “Shake It Off.” When Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour movie was announced, we bought tickets, invited friends, and made all the bracelets. But I still didn’t know much about the pop icon and my daughter was asking questions. Luckily, I had the opportunity to write a blog post about Taylor’s music and got a crash course in all things Swiftie. But honestly, I wish I had a kid-friendly biography to read to her at the time.
Since then, there has been a plethora of Taylor fan books to hit the market for adult fans and kids alike. And for the youngest of Swifties, well, we’d be afraid of some bad karma if we didn’t recommend the latest edition of Silver Dolphin’s popular Have You Heard Of series. Available September 10th, Have You Heard of Taylor Swift? tells the inspirational story of how the pop star became a world-renowned icon with cute text and fun interactive elements. Preschoolers will enjoy lifting the flaps and spinning the wheels to get Taylor ready for a performance, play different instruments, dress for award shows, and more.
In the meantime, if you have an inquisitive child like mine, here are 13 (that’s Taylor’s favorite number, btw) facts you can speak now to help your young reader become a Swiftie mastermind.
Is your little one ready for it? To become a Swiftie, that is. Don't miss the latest in the Have You Heard of Series!
13 Facts Every Swiftie Must Know
1. Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989, in West Reading, Pennsylvania. In 2009, she told MTV News, “I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first No. 1 song had a 13-second intro.” For these reasons and more, 13 has become her lucky number—she’s even been known to draw the number on her hands before performing.
2. Taylor grew up on a Christmas tree farm—a fact my own little girl loves. Her home also inspired her catchy holiday single—you guessed it— “Christmas Tree Farm,” which Swifties like to play on repeat starting as early as November.
3. Taylor has been singing since she started to talk, but at age 12, she started writing and composing her own music, too. She was inspired by many of country music’s female powerhouses, including LeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill, and Shania Twain.
4. Singing runs in the family. Taylor’s maternal grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, was an opera singer! Her vocals appear on the track “Marjorie,” which Taylor wrote for the Evermore album.
5. When she was 14, Taylor and her family moved to the Nashville area so she could pursue a career in country music. After a music executive saw Taylor perform at the famous Bluebird Cafe, she was offered a record deal—the rest, as they say, is history.
6. Taylor’s first and self-titled album was released on October 24, 2006, and feature the chart-topping song “Tim McGraw,” an ode to the music of one of country’s biggest stars.
7. In 2008, “Love Story,” off the Fearless album, became Taylor’s first song to reach No. 1 on both the country music and pop charts.
8. The singer-songwriter is a mom to three cats, all named after popular film/TV characters: Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson, and Benjamin Button.
9. About those Easter eggs…In the liner notes of all her studio albums, Taylor hides secret messages in the lyrics by capitalizing certain words. She also likes to include clues and puzzles in her videos, outfits choices, and social media posts to keep her fans guessing about what she is going to do next.
10. Taylor’s Speak Now album, released in 2010 when she was 20 years old, is the first album she wrote entirely by herself without any co-writers.
11. Taylor crossed over from country to pop music with her album 1989, named after the year she was born. The album features many of the bops that appeal to Taylor’s younger fans, like “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” “Bad Blood,” and “Welcome to New York.”
12. Taylor likes a surprise. She usually plays at least two surprise tracks in addition to her 40-song set list on the Eras Tour.
13. A newer Swiftie tradition, fans started swapping friendship bracelets around 2022 after Taylor released “You’re On Your Own, Kid” on the Midnights album. In the song, Swift sings, “So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it,” and her fans definitely listened.