The Brain Sucker by Glenn Wood

Walker Books, 2012. ISBN 978-1-921977-63-3.
Recommended for 9 to 12 year old students. What if your heart was so black, that you wanted to destroy all the goodness in the world? Lester Smythe is one such man. He has invented a brain-sucking machine to remove all kindness from people. When Lester uses the machine on 13 year old Callum's grandmother, Callum and his friends decide to track him down and stop his evil ways.
Callum does not let his wheelchair restrict him and with the help of Sophie's inventions he begins a quest to return his grandmother to her considerate and gentle self. Even Jinx, his accident-prone friend becomes part of the action.
This is a great tale for middle primary students and creates some interesting discussion points about people's behaviour. Are the rude actions of people in the city part of their kindness being removed by the brain sucker or just modern life?
You can hear Glenn Wood read the beginning of his book here.
Jane Moore