Children's Lit Titles in Latin (Pt 11) Halloween Quiz

Answer: Cucurbita Magna

A pumpkin would be "cucurbita" in Latin and "Magna" is a strong word for "big" or "great."

Written by Erica Silverman and illustrated by S. D. Schindler in 1992, the story is about a witch who grows a giant pumpkin for Halloween and wants to make a pumpkin pie but needs help getting it off the vine. A variety of Halloween characters try assisting: ghost arrives to help but can't move it. Then a vampire tries, a mummy tries, and finally a bat come along, but they all fail. But the bat has the idea, that they can all work together to pull at it. The plan works, and the pumpkin rolls down to the witch's door after snapping off the vine.

Answer: Quinque Parvae Cucurbitae

"Quinque" is the numeral for "five," "Parvae" (meaning little) is the feminine plural form of parvus, in agreement with both the plural "pumpkins" and its gender. -a, -um (small, little). It agrees in case, number, and gender with "pumpkins." "Cucurbitae" is the feminine plural nominative form (nominative because "Pumpkins" is the subject in the title) of cucurbita, -ae (pumpkin).

The book is based on a traditional anonymous poem, so there are actually a few versions of it. One of the most popular is the 1998 version by illustrator Dan Yaccarino. Five pumpkins are sitting on a gate, and as the Halloween night gets later, each pumpkin speaks a line in rhyme, in reaction to spooky events happening. The counting book reaches an end when the wind blows out the night, and the five little pumpkins roll away into the night.

Answer: Felicem Lemuria Bestiola

"Felicem" is the accusative singular modifier for "Happy" derived from the adjective fēlīx.
"Lemuria" is a very adequate Latin word "Halloween," because although it is not a literal translation, it refers to an ancient Roman festival that culturally paralleled Halloween because of the shared themes involving ghosts, restless spirits, and rituals to banish them or appease them.
"Bestiola" literally means "a small beast." Its diminutive form lends it an affectionate tone as opposed to a clinical/anthropological one.

Mayer Mercer's 2004 book includes those flaps that young readers lift to reveal spooky creatures, mummies, skeletons, etc. Many of those monsters turn out to be familiar friends under the disguise. You see, Little Critter and his Little Sister have attended a haunted house Halloween party, dressed up in costumes. And they play Halloween party games like bobbing for apples and "Pin the Broom on the Witch".

Answer: Quomodo Amicitias Cum Lumere Iungas

"Quomodo" is Latin for "How" as in "in what way".
"Iungas" is Latin for "you might "join" and used with "Amicitias" to mean "form a friendship."
"Cum Lumere" will mean "with a ghost" as in "restless spirit of the dead." Lumere perhaps captures the spirit (no pun intended) of the Halloween ghost as opposed using the more generic "Umbra" for ghost, although would certainly be very acceptable too it seems to me.

Written and illustrated by Rebecca Green this children's picture book is cleverly structured as a "how-to" manual providing step-by-step tips if you encounter a ghost and want to cultivate a lifetime friendship from the initial meeting. Tips include offering the ghost their favorite snacks like mud tarts and earwax truffles, and telling bedtime stories and making sure no one mistakes them for whipped cream or a marshmallow. In the story, the child and ghost grow up together, and the story ends very sweetly, so perhaps it's a nice tonic for impressionable children who might be scared of ghosts.

Answer: Ecce Cucurbita Maxima Carole Brunneus

"Ecce", meaning "Behold!" is a good choice for "It's the..." since in the title it's functioning as an exclamation. "Cucurbita Maxima" means "Greatest Pumpkin"-"Cucurbita Magna" ("Grand or Great") would work also, but after all in this story it does seem that it's the Greatest Pumpkin. "Carole Brunneus" works for "Charlie Brown" as "Carole" is a Latin diminutive form of the name Charlie, and "Brunneus" would be the "Brown" surname since that surname etymologically arose as a description of the person, whether they had brown hair, or brown eyes, etc.

The book is based on Charles M. Schulz's iconic Peanuts CBS-TV special. One storyline follows Linus and his faith that the Great Pumpkin will arise in the most "sincere" pumpkin patch on Halloween Night, and deliver toys to children. Another storyline follows Charlie Brown who is ridiculed for his costume-a sheet over him simulating a ghost, but with way too many eyeholes cut out. He gets rocks as "treats" when trick-or-treating. And then there's Snoopy as a World War I Flying Ace, battling the Red Baron.

Answer: Regina Vesperis Omnium Sanctorum

"Regina" is the Latin nominative case for "Queen", the subject of the title.
Another translation of "Halloween" can be "Vesper Omnium Sanctorum" which is the direct historical meaning of "All Hallows' Eve" aka, "the Eve of All Saints." "Vesperis" is the genitive singular for the classical word for "Eve." "Omnium Sanctorum" means "of All the Saints," a direct translation of "All Hallows".

Written and illustrated by Mary Engelbreit, this story is part of the series of books featuring a little girl named Ann Estelle. In this one, published in 2008, Ann is very excited for Halloween, and she dresses up in a fairy queen costume to go out trick-or-treating with her friend Michael. Things get spooky when then encounter a scary looking house with a long dark pathway leading up to the doorbell. Will Ann be brave enough to take the path and ring the bell?

Answer: Iacculus Cucurbita

"Pumpkin" would be "Cucurbita", the botanical Latin word for "pumpkin."
"Jack" can be Latinized as "Iacobus," the name for James, or in this case "Iacculus," a diminutive, more affectionate form.

The story, by Will Hubbell is a nice look at the cycle of life through the life of a jack-o'-lantern named Jack, the name given to it by a boy named Tim who carved it, his first such Halloween endeavor. After Halloween, Jack naturally begins to decompose, but instead of throwing Jack away, Tim puts Jack outside in the garden, and nature take its course. Jack continues to decay, eventually becoming a shell with pumpkin seeds inside. When Spring comes, the seeds sprout and grow into pumpkin vines. By the time next Halloween arrives, the garden is full of pumpkins, and Tim picks out a new pumpkin to carve into a new Pumpkin Jack.

Answer: Cucurbitae Nimiae

This translation turns the quality of being "too much" into an adjective describing the pumpkins ("Cucurbitae") themselves. "Nimiae" means excessive, too many, overly abundant.

Linda White's "Too Many Pumpkins" (1996) is illustrated by Megan Lloyd, and it's a picture book about a woman named Rebecca Estelle who has disliked pumpkins all her life, stemming from childhood when her family had to eat pumpkins for an entire month when they had little money. So, she grows all kinds of vegetables in her garden but doesn't grow pumpkins (which are berries, but that's another matter). One day, a pumpkin falls off a passing truck and smashes. She buries all the pieces, but then next Spring a pumpkin patch has sprouted. She decides to share the abundance with her community, and overcomes her dislike of pumpkins by carving jack-o'-lanterns and baking pumpkin pies and other sorts of pumpkin treats. She has a celebration with everyone and grows connected to her community.

Answer: Lemuria Parvarum Magarum

"Wee witches" would be "parvarum magarum" (plural feminine) in the genitive plural form ("of the little witches"). "Halloween" or would be Lemuria in the nominative case as the main noun.

"The Wee Witches' Halloween" by author/illustrator Jerry Smath is about a group of little witches who start out excited to begin their Halloween night with the intent of scaring everyone they meet. But all their attempts to frighten people at a fair and then at a parade fall far short of their goal; no one was scared by them, and sometimes people would just look away. Their last attempt before they almost flew away dejected, was when they spotted a group of children-they screamed "BOO!" at them. But the children laugh cheerfully, and scream "BOO!" right back at the witches. Feeling defeated, the witches are about to fly away when they spot one last group of children and decide to give it a final try. They scream their biggest "BOO!", but instead of being scared, the children just laugh and cheerfully scream "BOO!" right back at them. The witches wind up going to a Halloween party, and wind up winning the prize for best costume. They learn that the best part about Halloween is sharing the fun with others.

Answer: Ubi est Cucurbita Infantis

"Ubi est" is Latin for "Where is", and "Cucurbita" means "pumpkin." "Infantis" is the genitive form of "infans," meaning "of the baby."

Karen Katz's "Where Is Baby's Pumpkin?" is an interactive lift-the-flap board book in which a baby searches all around the house for a pumpkin to take out when going trick-or-treating. The baby looks under leaves, behind a curtain, under the bed, and under each flap, the baby doesn't find the missing pumpkin, but does discover other fun Halloween-themed revelations: a ghost, a witch's hat, bats, candy apples, etc. Finally, baby does find the pumpkin, and it is ready to go trick-or-treating.