A little girl’s devastating loss, a grieving time and
someone with a healing touch – a loving touch.
A someone who reaches out to the little girl and,
little by little, mends the child, just as she
mends her favourite doll, Lucille.
J. R. Poulter & Sarah Davis
J. R.
Poulter
&
Sarah
Davis

J.R.
Poulter
&
Sarah
Davis

J. R. Poulter was born in Sydney, educated at Southport, did an Arts degree and library qualifications, In memory of Judy with the red hair,
worked in the State Library, as a book reviewer for Queensland Education, a research assistant and
associate lecturer at University of Queensland and, currently, as academic editor assisting international
who lost her mother as a young girl. J.P.
postgraduates. Under J.R.McRae, she writes and illustrates poetry, reviews books, music and film.
J.R. has published 8 other books, fiction and teacher resources and stories and lives with For my family. S.D.
her family and pets in Queensland.
Sarah Davis was born in England in 1971. She moved to New Zealand when she was six and spent
most of her childhood wearing gumboots and falling into rivers. She has an Honours degree in
English literature from Canterbury University and a Diploma of Teaching from the Christchurch
College of Education. Sarah taught English, Art and Art History in secondary schools for several years
before deciding that being an illustrator would let her get covered in paint more often. She now
lives and works in Sydney with her mathematician partner and three children.
Mending Lucille is her first picture book.
A Lothian Children’s Book
Published in Australia and New Zealand in 2008
by Hachette Livre Australia Pty Ltd
Level 17, 207 Kent Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Website: www.hachettechildrens.com.au
Text copyright © J. R. Poulter 2008
Illustrations copyright © Sarah Davis 2008
This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the
purposes of private study, research, criticism or review permitted
under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be stored or reproduced
by any process without prior written permission. Enquiries should
be made to the publisher.
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
Poulter, Jennifer, 1949-
Mending Lucille.
ISBN 9780734410337 (hbk.)
For primary school age. Grief--Juvenile fiction. I. Davis, Sarah
II. Title.
A823.4
Designed by Pigs Might Fly Productions
Prepress by Hell Colour Australia
Printed in XXXXXXX by XXXXXXX

A raging
and roaring
a nd r o
l l i n g in the sky like a
stor
m…
It was my Mummy ... going.

I watch till the
big grey bird disappears.

Sometimes I still wake to
the sound and cry,
hoping she will come.
But she doesn’t.
All I ille is
broken.
have i L uc
s Lucille, and

I asked Daddy,
‘When will Mummy
I asked Daddy to
come back?
fix Lucille.
She knows how to
He tried, but it mend Lucille.’
was no good.
Daddy didn’t answer.

One day, Lucille and
I found a grey bird
under the rosebush.
It was hurt.

Dad took it to the Noskis next door.
They put it in a cage. Mrs Noski used to look
after me sometimes, till her hip got bad.
I asked Daddy
if I’d hurt the
grey bird.
He said, ‘It’s not
your fault,’
and looked out
the window a
long time.

When Daddy had to go back to work, I wouldn’t let Lucille go.
he took me and Lucille on the truck too. I cried.
I saw a lot of places I hadn’t seen before.
When I was lonely I hugged Lucille very tight.
Once we stopped at
a place where a girl said
Lucille was a dirty old doll.
Daddy said maybe it was time I Daddy didn’t talk about it anymore, but I hid
threw her out and got a nice new doll. Lucille in the bunk behind the driver’s seat.

One night we went to a
new place for tea.
I liked it.
I told Daddy I liked Chrissie.
She’s the waitress.
Daddy said he did too.
I even showed her Lucille.
The waitress talked to me and She asked could she have
gave me icecream ‘on the house’. her for company one time
We went there often after that. while we ate our tea.

When we were ready to go
gave me ba
ck Lucille
she and
she was
mended
.

That was ages ago. Chrissie had a pretty dress on too,
and lots of little flowers in her hair,
Then Chrissie made me a pretty dress
and a matching one for Lucille.
W
ew
alk
ed
beh
ind
her do
wn a long carpet
and a white bird with
to where Dadd y was. long tail feathers.

ssie and dad went
Chri a wa
y that weekend.
I stayed at the Noskis and we let
the grey bird out of the cage.
It was all better.

Chrissie lives with us
now.

Last night
there was a
roaring
and
rolling
in the air.
I woke crying.
I couldn’t find Lucille.
I called ‘Mummy!’
I looked up and Chrissie was there.
She picked Lucille up off the floor
and cuddled us to sleep.

This morning there were two grey
birds on the clothesline.
I thought of the plane and how
Mummy was gone.
I told Chrissie. We both cried.

I love Chrissie.
She mended Lucille
just like M u m
my.