A boy receives an orange as a gift, and he generously gives away its segments to others, only to find himself with none left. Someone tells him that it was a navel orange, and there was a hidden baby orange within the skin, enough for one bite. I read this around the 70’s, a beautifully illustrated book. The author might have had a Spanish name, or perhaps Jewish? I don’t recall any Christmas themes and he shared his gift mainly with older relatives, neighbors who seem European…
Stump the Bookseller
New format, same book stumper solving.
That’s Antrim’s Orange by Sylvia Sunderlind (1976).
“Antrim divides his prized wartime orange among his friends, keeping one piece which unfortunately he steps on. Luckily, his mother remembers the piece tucked around the navel.”
Solved. “Antrim’s Orange”, 1976. It was about hardship in England during WWII. Oranges were considered a luxury and a treasured, rare gift. Beautiful drawings.