The Christmas Orange

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Anton Stingley is so spoiled, he already owns 1141 toys, but of course,
he wants more. Just before Christmas, he hands Santa a 16-page list that
demands a swimming pool, a rocket ship filled with popsicles, a singing
dog, a gun that shoots apple juice, and a chocolate mountain. And that
is just the first page. On Christmas morning, all Anton finds under the
Christmas tree is a single orange. Anton is so angry at Santa, he
decides to sue. Together, Anton and his solicitor, Wiley Studpustle,
haul Santa into court to see who will have the last “ho-ho-ho.”

Although the theme of Santa sitting in a defendant’s box immediately
conjures up visions of Miracle on 34th Street and other haggard
Christmas ghosts, Don Gillmor’s prose seizes control of the reader’s
funny bone and does not let go until the very last page. Marie-Louise
Gay’s illustrations are, as usual, wonderfully wacky. Some pages seem
to erupt as dozens of playfully grotesque characters nudge and jostle
each other for the reader’s attention. Other pages freeze the
reader’s eye on a single outlandish focal point. This is a Christmas
book not quite like the others. Highly recommended.