The National Retail Federation projects that people will spend a significant amount on Mother's Day this year.
The NRF estimates that consumers will spend $7 billion on jewelry, $5.9 billion on special outings, $3.5 billion on electronics, $3.2 billion on flowers, and $1.1 billion on greeting cards this year.
Lydia Cohn's tribute to her late mother Joan Yingling, through a series of children's books, a website, and a writers' networking group, is especially unique considering the amount of Mother's Day spending.
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Lydia Cohn with daughters Jess, left, and Jenna, right. (Photo courtesy Lydia Cohn)
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Joan C. Yingling (Photo courtesy Lydia Cohn)
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Plymouth Meeting author Lydia Cohn. (Photo courtesy Lydia Cohn)
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To go back in time: Lydia Cohn, who grew up in Merion Station with her six siblings, took possession of her mother's folder of poems when her parents downsized. Her mother had written the poems while raising seven kids, attending beauty school, and working as a hairdresser.
Cohn explained that her mother worked hard to support the family and eventually became a salon manager and co-founded a salon in Haddonfield, New Jersey. Later, she worked behind the scenes at Channel 6 TV.
After her mother's passing, Cohn began to wonder about the amount of poetry her mother had written and started to consider publishing it.
She recalled that her mother wrote poetry for fun and while she was bright, she faced financial challenges. Her father passed away when she was 12, and she had to go to an orphanage. Despite this, she was grateful for the education she received at Nazareth Academy and went on to work for The Philadelphia Inquirer as a statistician. Following her mother's death, Cohn continued to work with her husband at his magazine, Mid-Atlantic Events. Her daughters were also aware of her dream to publish her mother's poems. In 2018, Jess suggested turning each poem into a children's book, and this idea eventually came to fruition. Following Yingling’s death, Cohn continued overseeing back-of-house details at husband Jim’s “Mid-Atlantic Events” magazine. Daughters Jess and Jenna, who had grown up listening to their grandmother’s poems, were aware Cohn dreamed of publishing them. But it wasn’t until 2018 when Jess — who had written and self-published a novel when she was a sophomore at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, studied creative writing in college and become an acquisitions editor at Mascot Books Publishing — suggested reimagining each poem as the storyline in an illustrated children’s book that her “dream” took shape.
“That’s brilliant, I thought,” Cohn said. “Jess said we have a whole team here (at Mascot), illustrators, everything you’d need. It was like a lightbulb went off. So, that’s how it all started.”
First, the book “The Story of The Can’t That Could” was published in 2019, followed by “The Story of The Curious Elf” in 2021. There is also a third book based on Yingling’s “Nature’s Artist” in progress. After these books were published, Cohn has done many popular readings at local elementary schools, and both books have become popular with young readers.
This spring, Yingling’s creative accomplishments inspired Cohn to establish a local writers’ support group to exchange ideas for marketing their books and stay updated on marketing opportunities, such as Discover Conshohocken’s recent Fayette Street book signing event. The Book Authors of Southeastern PA had its first meeting on April 14, and Cohn is optimistic about its future based on the turnout.
“18 authors attended, and there was a lot of excitement about coming together,” she said. “Currently, we’re gathering everyone’s bios, headshots, book cover photos, and social media links to put on a website, with links to each author’s individual website. We have also created a private Facebook page just for the writers, so we can exchange ideas, and soon we will create a public Facebook page.”
The group includes 26 members with various book genres represented and aims to grow its membership in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.
What might poet Joan Yingling have thought of all this?
“I think she would be very humbled,” Cohn said. “I don’t think she ever believed she was good enough. Mom started all this, and I wish she had seen it come to fruition. The first time I went to a school to visit the kids, a second grade class, I kind of lost it on the way there. I felt like she was with me … in the passenger seat. She never would have thought to do any of it, but she would have loved it.
“She probably would have dismissed the whole idea at first, but then reluctantly given me permission to do it. And then, I think she would have been completely surprised to see how well-received it’s all been and would have loved being around the little kids to share the stories with.”
More information is available through email to [email protected].
Lydia Cohn’s tribute to her late mother Joan Yingling (1930-2008) is an ongoing series of children’s books, a website named after her, and a writers’ networking group.
