Biographies of Simone Biles, Taylor Swift and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson are headed to bookstores. (Photo: Golden Books)
With so much attention on Taylor Swift‘s breakup with Joe Alwyn this week, you could almost forget that the “Lavender Haze” singer is a highly decorated musician, with everything from 12 Grammys to 14 MTV Video Music Awards to 40 American Music Awards — that’s more than anyone else — sitting on her shelves. And she’ll soon add another one, as she becomes one of the few celebrities to have their own Little Golden Book biography.
Publisher Golden Books announced this month that 24-page biographies of Swift and other celebrities, designed for children ages 2-5, will be released over the next three months. Swift’s installment, Taylor Swift: A Little Golden Book Biography, written by Wendy Loggia and illustrated by Elisa Chavarri, “describes the rise to fame of the Grammy Award–winning and multiplatinum artist whose distinctive talent for storytelling has made her one of the biggest superstars in both country and pop music.” The publisher added, “This is an inspiring read-aloud for young children and their Swiftie parents!”
Taylor Swift performs March 17, opening night of her The Eras Tour, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. (Photo: John Medina/Getty Images)
A rep for Swift did not respond to Yahoo Entertainment’s request for comment.
Sonali Fry, the vice president and publisher of Little Golden Books, explains that the company is always adding to its list of such titles, but the celebs themselves don’t have any say in it.
“We are constantly updating the running list that we have, and in the past two years we have tripled the number of biographies we publish every year in order to keep up with the demand,” Fry tells us. “We publish artists, world leaders, entertainers, and athletes, and we think about who’s resonating right now in popular culture, as well as people who are inspiring and are role models for children. We also receive suggestions from our sales team, who receive requests from their accounts.”
In addition to the one about Swift, Little Golden Books on Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, celebrated entertainer Julie Andrews and fashion icon Iris Apfel will be available May 2. On July 18, books about accomplished wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, music legend Tony Bennett and late United States Sen. John McCain will land on store shelves. The new books will retail for $5.99.
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They join titles based on familiar names including Swift’s contemporaries in music, like Beyoncé and Dolly Parton, as well as high-profile people such as Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, distinguished entertainer Harry Belafonte and Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the country through the COVID-19 pandemic while serving as chief medical adviser to the president.
Fry points out that the Little Golden Books line, first published in 1942 and intended to make books for young readers more accessible, has a loyal fan base.
“In addition to parents, educators, and children, our audience includes collectors and grandparents,’ Fry remarks. “So many people remember the classic Little Golden Books from their own childhoods, and they support the new line extensions as well.”
My Little Golden Book About Betty White was an especially big hit, even with adult fans of the late star of Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Published in 2021, Amazon still has it listed as its top seller in performing arts bios for children, and it shows up regularly in gift stores and lists. The volume was such a smash that Golden Books published a larger collector’s edition with bonus content, a Big Little Golden Book, in November.
The Little Golden Book about the life of Betty White — the expanded collector’s edition is featured here — has outsold all of the publisher’s other biographies. (Photo: Golden Books)
“Despite Betty’s whirlwind success,” Fry says, “demand for our upcoming Taylor Swift biography indicates that she may overtake Betty in the near future!”
It would hardly be Swift’s first record to break.
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