Children's Lit Titles in Latin (Part 8): Animals Quiz

Answer: Nasus Ursi-Hominis

The name Arthur has highly debated etymology, mixing Celtic legend and Roman influence. A Celtic (Brythonic/Welsh) possible root is "Artos" for "bear" and "Viros" for "man" giving us "Artorios" meaning "bear-man" or "warrior". This may have inspired early Welsh names like "Artúr" and "Artgur." And a Latin translation for "bear-like man" would be "ursinus homo." Nāsus is "nose"; Ursi would be the genitive singular of ursus "bear"; and hominis means "of the man" (genitive singular of homo, "man").

In 1976, the first book in Marc Brown's Arthur the Aardvark series, "Arthur's Nose" was published. The poor little aardvark wears glasses atop his long droopy nose which he hates. Sure enough though, he comes to learn how useful his long aardvark nose can be.

Answer: Tela Carlottae

Tela is "web", specifically a spider's web. And Carlottae would be the appropriate translation of "Charlotte's as it means "of Charlotte", the genitive case, showing possession.

The author, E.B. White, was actually a farmer himself, and was inspired to write his book after watching spiders in his barn. Published in 1952, "Charlotte's Web" is one of the classics in the genre. It tells a story about the friendship, sacrifice, and the cycle of life experienced by a wise spider and charming pig named Wilbur who was saved from slaughter.

Answer: Clac, Cloc, Mugitu: Vaccae Quae Scribunt Machinā

The Latin translation of "Click, Clack, Mugitu: Cows That Type" is a bit tricky in terms of capturing the onomatopoeia of the sounds typing. Clac, Clac is a phonetic Latinized version, consistent with following the Latin tendency to simplify consonant clusters, and typical Latin word endings. For the sound itself of "moo" Latin authors often used the onomatopoeic word "mugitu" (the noun form). Vaccae is the plural form of "cows" the singular being vacca.
Quae is "That" or "Which" the feminine plural pronoun, to match Vaccae. Scribunt would be the present tense, third person plural for "Type" or "write" (from scriber) and Machinā is the Latin word for "machine" used here with Scribunt to mean "typewriter".

Written by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin, the story is about the cows in Farmer Brown's barn who find an old typewriter and start typing messages to the farmer. They and the other animals begin making demands of Farmer Brown, such as electric blankets. When he refuses, they go on strike! Moonion! Moonion! Moonion!

Answer: Coniecto Quanto Amo Te

Coniectú = "Guess!" (imperative of coniectare, "to estimate/imagine")
Quantum = "How much"
Te Amem = "I love you" (subjunctive mood, conveying warmth)

Guess How Much I Love You is a beloved children's book written by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram. The story revolves around the affectionate relationship between two hares, Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare, as they express their love for each other in increasingly imaginative ways.

Answer: Villōsus Maclarius ē Lāctāriā Filius Domini Mundi

This Latin translation preserves the sing song cadence of the original.
"Hairy" gives us "Villōsus", from villōsus (hairy/shaggy), evoking the appearance of the title dog's scruffiness. scruffy dog's appearance.
We make "Maclarius" out of "Maclary", as per the Latin style, in which Romans often used -ius endings for foreign names (e.g., Antonius for Anthony).
Donaldson literally means "son of Donald" and the name Donald is rooted in the Gaelic Domhnall (Old Irish: Domnall) which was made up of "Dubro-" (meaning "world") and "val" (meaning "rule"), by which the name means "Ruler of the world." So, "son of Ruler of the World" would come out to be "Filius Domini Mundi" (Filius = "son", Domini = "of the ruler" Mundi = "of the world").
"From Donaldson's Dairy" can then translate to "ē Lāctāriā Filius Domini Mundi" ("from the Dairy of Donaldson). Lāctāria is "dairy" (from "lac", milk). Donaldsonis is the genitive form ("of Donaldson"), and Ē is "from" (ablatival preposition).

"Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy" was the first book in in the popular children's literature series written and illustrated by Lynley Dodd. The series follows the misadventures of a Scottish terrier and his quirky friends, which include Hercules Morse (a bloodhound), Bottomley Potts (a Dalmatian)
Muffin McLay (an English Sheepdog), and Schnitzel von Krumm (a dachshund).

Answer: Leo, Malefica, et Armarium

Leo = "Lion" (Aslan)
Malefica = "Witch" (with connotations of evil/bewitchment; Malefica emphasizes the White Witch's villainy (from malum = "evil").
Armarium = "Wardrobe" (a cupboard for clothes/objects) Armarium was used for storage furniture in classical Latin (e.g., Vitruvius).

This was the first published book in C.S. Lewis's "Chronicles of Narnia" series (1950), an allegorical fantasy about four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie, who encounter a magical world, and become embroiled in a battle between good and evil. A lion named Aslan is on the good side, while the White Witch Jadis is the evil figure.

Answer: Nox Noctulae Parvae

Nox is "Night", and Noctulae means "of the little owl" being the genitive form of noctula, a diminutive of noctua, which is "owl". Parvae for "little" is used as it indicates size and youth.

Published in 2011, the book by Divya Srinivasan is a children's picture book exploring the beauty of the forest at night. A curious little owl visits his friends, a Hedgehog, Skunk and Frogs and in various scenes they experience sensory wonders of the night, like dancing fireflies, sniffing glowing mushrooms, twinkling stars in the sky, rustling leaves. Perfect for reading to a child at bedtime and lulling them to sleep.

Answer: Alba Capitis Domini Mercātor Piperis

The surname Popper has roots tied to Germanic, Jewish (Ashkenazi), and English origins, as an occupational name for a pepper trader or spice merchant. Which in Latin would be Mercātor Piperis, so we'll call Mr. Popper, Domini Mercātor Piperis. Though Latin didn't actually have any experience with penguins, the etymology of the word "penguin" is often thought to be from Welsh pen "head" and gwyn "white", when sailors used this term for the now-extinct great auk, a black-and-white flightless North Atlantic bird. And white head in Latin could be "Alba Capitis" for a naturalistic ornithological description: Alba meaning "white"; and Capitis meaning "of the head".

Richard and Florence Atwater's 1938 book is about a house painter in a small town named Mr. Popper. He fantasizes about exploring the Arctic, but like so often in life he never gets around to his dream. After writing fan mail to polar explorer Admiral Drake for his radio broadcasts, Mr. Popper receive a penguin named Captain Vook from Admiral Drake as a present.

Answer: Chronica Aranea Vicus

Chronica is Latin for "Chronicles" borrowed from Greek chronikos, which was used in Medieval Latin for historical or mythological records.
The fictional toponym (place name) "Spiderwick" is crafted to convey a place of hidden entanglements and mystery. Aranea is the Classical Latin used by naturalists like Pliny the Elder in "Naturalis Historia" for spiders, and "wick" is derived from Old English "wīc" (from the Latin vicus), meaning "dwelling" or "village."

This 2003-2004 bestselling children's fantasy series by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, is about siblings Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace who move to their great-uncle Arthur Spiderwick's old dilapidated Victorian estate after their parents' divorce. They discover a "Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You" in which Arthur purports that magical creatures are real.

Answer: Fabula Babaris Parvi Elephas

Fabula is Latin for "Story"; Babaris is the genitive Latinized name for Babar. Parvi Elephas is "of the little elephant."

Aka "L'Histoire de Babar)" the 1931 book by Jean de Brunhoff is a classic children's lit tale about an orphaned elephant who journeys from the jungle to human civilization and in the end goes back to the jungle. In the process he was taught manners and etiquette and how to dress dapper, and....became a king.