Children's Lit Titles in Latin (Part 16): Dogs Quiz

Answer: Possumne Canis Tuus Esse

"Possumne" for "Can I?" literally asks "am I able?" with the enclitic "-ne" marking it as a question. "Canis" is "dog", and "tuus" is the singular "your". "Esse" is "to be."

"Can I Be Your Dog?" by Troy Cummings is a heart-warming story about a lovable stray dog named Arfy, who writes letters to every house on his street hoping with puppy-dog eyes to find a forever home.

Answer: Canis Indagator

"Canis" again is "dog" and "Indagator" is Latin for an investigator, searcher, or especially tracker (from "indagare", to track down), which is perfect for a dog who we easily picture "hunting down" clues, using its nose.

"The Detective Dog" by Julia Donaldson, is written in rhyming verse about the adventures of Nell the dog, who loves sniffing out lost items like slippers, toys, etc. One day, the little boy Peter and his dog Nell arrive at school to find that all the school's books have vanished! Nell puts her nose to work to track down the thief and the children all help.

Answer: Canihomo

In Dav Pilkey's book "Dog Man", Dog Man is a creature that is half human and half dog. So, not just simply a dog with a human personality, or a human with a dog personality, but an actual being that is a combination of the two. So, a good translation would be "Canihomo" indicating one fused entity combining combines "canis" (dog) + "homo" (human) into a new word for a new creature.

The "Dog Man" series of books are graphic novels that are very popular with kids. They are a spinoff from Dav Pilkey's "Captain Underpants" series of books; these involve the half-man/half dog hybrid who works as a police officer. The 16th book in the series came out in November 2025.

Answer: Canialfa et Caput Bubo

"Canialfa", like Canihomo is a hybrid creature too, an "Elf Dog", combining "canis" (dog) + "alfa", a feminine form for "elf". And then "Caput" is "Head" and "Bubo" is the genitive case, indicating "of an owl".

The book, by M. T. Anderson, was a 2024 Newbery Honor Book about a boy and a magical dog who leads him to hidden wonders in the forest, during a worldwide epidemic. They encounter a boy named Amos of the owl-headed people.

Answer: Ossa Ridicula Cani Os Da

"Funnybones" refers to the skeleton characters who are both humorous and...made up of bones. "Ossa Ridicula" is "Funnybones" combining "Ossa" meaning "bones", with "Ridicula" meaning "funny" (as in haha, not unusual). "Give the Dog a Bone" is a command (imperative) to someone to give a bone to a dog. We use "Cani Os Da" for "Cani" (to the dog, dative case), "Os" (a bone, accusative case), and "Da" (the single imperative for "give!")

In this 1980 book by Janet and Allan Ahlberg, a dog skeleton (like most dogs) has dreams involving tasty bones, and when he wakes up, he decides to go for a walk in the dark of night. But along the way, the dog keeps losing parts of himself. Bones actually, that's all he's made of. Soon he's just a pile of bones! Will the big humanoid skeleton and little humanoid skeleton be able to find their skeleton dog and put him back together?

Answer: Quo Modo Canem Surripias

"Quo modo" is a standard phrasing for "how to" In Latin. "Canem" is the accusative "dog" since it's the object of the title. "Surripias" is the 2nd person singular future perfect subjunctive of "surripio, meaning "to steal secretly").

"How To Steal a Dog" (2007), by Barbara O'Connor features a girl named Georgina Hayes, who plans to "steal" a dog for reward money, after she becomes homeless. But then of course, she finds herself struggling with her conscience.

Answer: Ego Canis Sum

"Canis = "Dog", "Sum = "I am", and we can add "Ego" for emphasizing "I".

"I Am Dog!" by Peter Bently has playfully rhymed text about a day in the life of a dog, from that dog's perspective. So, he chases stuff, splashes in some water, goes digging up the ground for other stuff, and barks.

Answer: Canis Tantum

"Tantum" is the adverb, from tantus meaning "only" in the sense of meaning "merely", not "solely". When it is placed after the noun, which in this case is "Canis" ("Dog"), it functions exactly like "just" meaning "merely" in English.

"Just a Dog" by Michael Gerard Bauer is a novel a young boy named Corey and an ordinary family dog his family adopted and named Mr. Mosely. The dog is a mutt, and only knows one trick, but darn it he's as loyal, protective, and loving as they come. The dog becomes the glue that "holds the family together" through joys and hardships.

Answer: Canis Mixtus

"Mixtus" (from misceō, "to mix") directly means "mixed" as in the description of a mutt's mixed heritage. It may not have the charm of the English "mutt", but it's clinically correct. And "Canis" of course is "Dog."

Inspired by author Stephen Michael King's own beloved dog, Muttley, "Mutt Dog!" is about a scruffy, stray dog who finds a home and family. His energy is also a good source of a play partner for the kids in the family.

Answer: Canis Meus Ridet

"Canis" means...I know you know this...that's right, it's "Dog", in this case the nominative singular, since it is the subject of the sentence. "Meus" is the possessive adjective for "My" agreeing with "canis" in gender and number. "Ridet" is "Laughs" being the 3rd person singular present indicative of "ridere".

Rachel Isadora's book "My Dog Laughs" was a Caldecott Honor winner's board book celebrating what makes dogs wonderful companions, covering the phases of training a dog, to playing with it, to simply cuddling with it.