Yellow Wellies
The Contest: Write a children’s story, in poetry or prose, maximum 350 words. The story must be about something that really says “SPRING” to you and the only other requirement is that the last line must be “[Character Name] knew Spring was really here!” or “[Character Name] knew Spring was here at last!” Just for fun, I went with a concept story for this contest, in verse.
SPRING SENSES
Yellow wellies 
pulled on tight,
Jake sets off for
morning hike.
Skipping through his
leafy ‘hood –
lilac posies,
bluebell wood.
April shower
sprinkling dew.
Umbrella up,
march on through.
Splashy puddles, 
bracing rain,
slurp through mud
and crud again.
Balsam fragrance,
bud and sap –
steamy earth scent
makes Jake clap.
Eyes shoot skyward –
geese aloft,
fluffing feathers,
white and soft.
Cherry blossom;
crocus white;
tulips dancing –
dazzling sight.
Round the corner,
Hilton pond –
ducklings hatching,
snug in frond.
Ribbet Ribbet,
frogs spawning,
gooey blobs born
this morning.
Morel mushroom
pokes its head
through a humid
mossy bed.
Jake, he gathers 
‘shrooms galore
for his breakfast
eggs and more.
Cuckoo, cuckoo
snags his ear.
Now Jake’s certain
spring is here.
All photos courtesy of ©JokeVerburg, a gifted dutch photographer friend.
The In Just Spring Contest! is being held on Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog, so do pop over to check out all the fabulous entries.
In my 20's, with only my guitar and a rucksack, I wandered the continents, immersing myself in the lives of some wonderful people, projects and stories, which changed the way I view my responsibility to others and this earth. Right now I'm a European transplant in the US who writes books for children and young adults. Stories can help us not only navigate our world but can connect us to others, and allow us to inspire and help each other. I believe that equity and empathy should be at the core of our all actions, words, and stories.
I am also a school librarian and I get a kick out of book-matchmaking! And I use the pronouns she/her.
I love the cadence of your poem. That, by itself, feels like spring. It is jaunty and chipper!
Thanks for noticing that, Laura. I chose the form, short and punchy, intentionally.
I love how the meter of your poem mirrors the little boy hopping on his hike! The line about bluebell wood is especially meaningful for me because we live near this hidden “valley of the bluebells” as a former neighbor liked to call it. And it is spectacular when filled with blooming bluebells in the spring.
I LOVE bluebell woods, Teresa.
Oh, I like this a lot. So many sounds and action signaling the arrival of spring. Nice rhythm to your poem.
Thank you, Pat. I wanted Jake to be able to experience the spring day with all his senses.
Wow, there are so many wonderful lines in here, like about balsam and yellow wellies! You really captures spring!
Thank you, Hannah. The idea began with the yellow wellies.
Delightful, Joanna! So much to love, starting with the SpongeBob boots 🙂 I love all the colors and descriptions of nature – very springy and fun. What a lovely spring morning stroll for Jake 🙂 Thanks for a great entry!
Thanks, Susanna, glad you enjoyed the bounce!
The rhythm is perfect for telling the story! You make it very easy for us to picture Jake splashing through puddles and skipping in the woods.
Thank you, Heather.
Thank you so much, Joanna…for sharing this sweet poem! I had a great time splashing and sloshing along with Jake…what a lucky boy to have seen so many signs of spring.:) You made spring come alive for me…through his eyes.:)
Thanks Vivian, I am off on a spring walk myself, this morning.
This is really lovely!
Thank you, Pat.
Beautiful, descriptive words for spring! Great job!
Thanks, Tina, I was trying to get all the senses involved.
Thanks for inviting us on Jake’s morning hike! I recoiled at the idea of him picking mushrooms.
I picked and ate a backyard mushroom once . . . and had to have my stomach pumped! Not FUN.
Now I avoid eating FUNGUS. 😀
Sadly, I’ve developed a violent mushroom allergy the past few years, but before that I would go mushroom picking every year with my French friends. In France you can get any mushrooms you pick checked at a pharmacy to be sure they are edible. Otherwise, yes, the surprise can be horrendous.
That is so cool that in France pickers can get mushrooms examined at the pharmacy for edibility. 😀
I want to go a hike through a bluebell wood, with the balsam fragrance and wellies pulled on tight. I’ve only once had the pleasure of an April Morel hunt – but you’ve got that down too! Beautiful. Sorry to hear about your allergy; I hope it subsides in the future. Having once ‘forgotten’ fresh ones in a paper bag (in the back of the fridge), I discovered you can grind the dry ones and add them to anything for flavor -hopefully a tip for the future! Mushroom soup is one of Liv’s favs too.
I haven’t dried them, but I have preserved chanterelles mushrooms in olive oil! I am gutted, as my pleasure in mushroom hunting has diminished hugely. We used to all go back to someone’s and eat a bunch of them fresh, usually with eggs! I also used to add mushrooms to much of my cooking.
The rhythm of your story made it so fun to read. And all your descriptive words are wonderful!
Thank you, Jill.
If you need any more spring pictures with your poem just let me know alright 🙂 Might have most things mentioned in the poem 🙂
Oh, yes please, Joke.
Really fun to read! Excellent. Great visuals.
Thanks, Gtretchen and I know you said this BEFORE I added all the photos!
Amazing job with the poetry, Joanna! Very upbeat and fresh. You made me miss the bluebells where we used to live in England. None in PA (they have something similar, but NOT the same). I didn’t know anything about the cuckoo bird–unless it was in a clock 😉
Yep, the cuckoo is a herald of spring (along with many other birds). I have great memories of UK bluebells.
I love those snappy lines, and how well they match the pictures.
Thank you, the goal was indeed short and snappy!
Fabulous! Fantastic! I love this! 😀
Thank you, Erik.
Simply wonderful poem Joanna! It took me right back to splashing in tadpole-filled mud puddles. :0)
I loved gathering tadpoles when I was a kid.
Joanna, I loved accompanying Jake on his hike through the mud and crud. Some of my fondest memories of England involve spring hikes with my welly-clad children past fields of daffodils and bluebells. A trip to Hampton Court was a ritual during daffodil season, too.
Your poem has reassured me that Spring is near, even if in southeastern England this year, it hasn’t quite arrived.
Patricia, when I think daffodils, I think of the Cambridge backs along the river behind the colleges… beautiful.
Phenomenal! Joanna you are a true poet…you’ve got it going on!
This poem has such a springy step to it! I love the 5-sense approach to the changing of the season. Just lovely!
Wow, Penny, I take that as a huge compliment coming from you. Thank you.
Joanna, I loved this!! Awesome awesome job!!!
This is a charming poem, Joanna, and it’s written so well! It truly encompasses how God’s beautiful world comes to life each Spring.