Children's Lit Titles in Latin (Pt 12) Halloween Quiz

Answer: Canis Ossium

"Canis" is the nominative singular subject for the standard Latin word "dog."
"Ossium" is the genitive plural of os (bone), showing composition, meaning "made of bones."

Bone Dog by Eric Rohmann tells a moving story about a boy named Gus dealing with the death of his elderly dog, Ella, who had warned Gus that she wouldn't be around much longer but promised him she would always be with him. And when that sad day comes, Gus is so heartbroken he doesn't even feel like dressing up for Halloween, but eventually Gus does go trick-or-treating in a skeleton costume. On the way home, he takes a shortcut through a cemetery whereupon he encounters a group of scary real skeletons who mistake him for one of their own kind, until they realize he isn't. And then they threaten him. And just like the cavalry, Ella appears...as a skeleton dog, or a "bone dog" and she rescues Gus by getting Gus to howl along with her, which summons forth a pack of live dogs. And you know that "dogs love bones", so the skeletons flee. Gus and his beloved dog are reunited even if Ella is a ghost dog, and their bond remains.

Answer: "Dona Mihi Delicias, aut alioqui Te Ludificabo!" Bacilla Cerae Coloratura

The phrase "trick or treat" when you think about it is really saying "Give me a treat or else I'll play a trick on you!" So, that's the basis of this translation:
"Dona mihi delicias" means "Give me sweets", "aut alioqui" means "or else" and "te ludificabo" means "I will trick you."
"Cretae" or "Cerae" would be much more general possibilities for "Crayons" as those words mean "chalk" and "wax" respectively. So, for a hyper-specific translation, one could use "Bacilla Cerae Coloratura" meaning specifically "Colored Wax Sticks". And then placing it at the end of the sentence follows a Latin word order for the title.

Illustrated by Oliver Jeffries, this book, written by Drew Daywalt, posits that the Crayons want to go trick-or-treating, so they get dressed in color-appropriate costumes: Orange dresses as a pumpkin, White as a ghost, Green as a witch, etc. The Peach crayon, who has lost its wrapper, repeatedly shouts, "I'm naked!", which I find to be funny even on an adult-level. The thing they don't have ironed out though, is what to say upon ringing the doorbells. They try things like "Merry Christmas!" and "Happy American Cheese Month!" It is the Purple Crayon (for some reason) that takes charge, teaching the others that the correct phrase is "Trick or Treat!"

Answer: Commentarii Maleficae Fortuitae

Commentarii (or Diarium) work well for "Diary". "Maleficae" is the genitive singular of malefica, and would be a good choice for witch, among the several possible translations, since in the sense of the story it is a female practitioner of magic, with a connotation of spell-casting. And "Fortuitae" means "happening by chance, accidental," capturing the concept of becoming a witch not by intention, but by accident or luck.

"Diary of an Accidental Witch" by Perdita and Honor Cargill is the first book in a series about an ordinary 11-year-old girl named Bea Black who is accidentally enrolled in a school for witches called the School of Extraordinary Arts. Written in a diary format, Bea writes about her classes which include learning to fly on a broomstick, and tending to the class's frog. She also writes about trying to make new friends, and preparing for the school's big event - the Halloween Ball. All this time she's also hiding her school's magical true nature from her father and her best friend, who goes to the regular school in their town of Little Spellshire.

Answer: Phantasma Quod Omnium Metuebat

"Phantasma" is a neuter noun for "Ghost" that agrees with the "who/which" relative pronoun "Quod." "Omnium" is the genitive plural of omnia, meaning "of everything" and "Metuebat" is "was afraid", the imperfect tense of metuere, meaning "to fear."

As the title suggests, the protagonist in Nadia Ahmed's story is a ghost, but he's a ghost that is frightened of Halloween-all the spooky noises, dark shadows, creepy-crawly creatures and costumes and overall chaotic festivities. He'd like to enjoy it since he sees all the other ghosts and monsters doing so, but can't seem to drum up the courage. As he encounters a friendly child, a supportive parent ghost, and another misunderstood creature he begins to find that courage.

Answer: Larvas in Domo

Ancient Romans had specific words for ghosts and spirits like, "Larva" and "Lemures", which might be better than "Spectra" which literally means "an appearance, image, or an apparition." And then "in Domo" would be "in the House".

"Ghosts in the House!" is a children's picture book by Kazuno Kohara is about a girl who moves into a big, old house at the edge of town, and finds that it is inhabited by ghosts, which is not so bad because...well, the little girl is a witch. Undaunted by the haunted, she catches the ghosts and repurposes them into useful household items: She runs the ghosts through the washing machine, for instance, and then hangs them out to dry. Voila! Brand new curtains, tablecloths, and bedsheets. Call now and they'll throw in some dish towels!

Answer: Quomodo Domum Infestare

"Quomod" = "How to" while "Infestare" means "to haunt, or trouble repeatedly." "Domum" is the accusative form of domus, meaning "a house" which is the object of the verb "Infestare."

The plot of this book by Carolyn Crimi follows three little "ghosties" in training named Groana, Moana, and Shrieky who are students at Madam Grey's ghost school in order to be deemed ready for Halloween. To pass their final exam, they must successfully haunt three houses. They are very successful at spooking the people in the first two houses, but then the third house proves a difficult challenge as it is inhabited by a family of monsters who actually enjoy the attempts that the ghosties employ: making scary faces, stomping around, bringing in bugs, bats, cats, and rats. So, they think out of the box, and instead of doing scary things, they acted all cute and warm; sure enough, the monster family hid and shrieked and "ran away into the night!" Madam Grey proclaimed the ghosties ready for Halloween and unleashed them out to haunt.

Answer: Si Nutrix Tua Malefica Est

"Si" is Latin or "If".
"Nutrix" was the Roman term for a nurse or caretaker, and "Tua" means "Your."
"Malefica Est" is Latin for a "Witch/Sorceress."

Ana Siqueira's bilingual picture book takes place on the night before Halloween, as a young girl is convinced that the new babysitter who has arrived is a witch. The babysitter was wearing a black sombrero and apparently her laugh was similar to a cackling crow so you can see how the young girl got the notion. But she's not scared - instead she uses her imagination to conjure up an adventure. For instance, she imagines the babysitter's bicycle is a flying broomstick, bath time she imagines as the witch putting her in a cauldron, etc. But she imagines these things all in good fun, and the two become friends. Illustrated by Irena Freitas.

Answer: Anus Saga Punicorum

"Punicorum" means "Of the Pomegranates"-the genitive plural of punicum (pomegranate), showing possession or association, making her "the witch belonging to the pomegranates" or "the witch of the pomegranates." "Anus Saga" would be kindly old witch: "Anus" meaning simply "old woman" and "Saga" being a wise woman seer, or prophetess, possessing knowledge of the future and hidden things, but without the malevolence. And that aligns with the book's intent, which hints that the witch and kindly old woman are the same person.

"The Pomegranate Witch" by Denise Doyen is about a group of neighborhood children who are so enticed by the "big, red, round, ripe" pomegranates growing on an old gnarly tree that they risk offending the terrifying "Pomegranate Witch" who guards them, in order to snatch the pomegranates. So they launch a "Pomegranate War" attack with their bicycles, rackets, rakes, hoses and trash can lids. The witch retaliates with water cannons, walnuts, and tree branches. And then...on Halloween night, the mysterious witch is somehow gone, and a "Kindly Lady" presumed to be the witch's sister, is in her place greeting trick-or-treaters and giving them cider and pomegranates.

Answer: Larva Gallinacea

Literally this would mean "The Chicken Ghost" or "Ghost of a Hen" which is pretty much what the portmanteau pun of "Poultrygeist" means. The word it's punning, "Poltergeist" is German for "noisy ghost", but our book here is a Poultry Ghost, "Gallinacea" being the feminine singular form of the adjective gallinaceus, -a, -um, which means "of or pertaining to hens or poultry."

"Poultrygeist" by Mary Jane Auch is about two noisy roosters, named Ralph and Rudy who constantly bicker and crow, which disturbs the other farm animals who are trying to sleep. Clarissa the cow and Sophie the sheep, are especially tired of the noise, but lo and behold, on the night before the barnyard Halloween parade, the Ralph and Rudy's clamor seems to awaken a tall, spooky ghostly presence called the "Poultrygeist!" The barnyard animals are too frightened to sleep inside the barn, and as the two roosters scuffle, they accidentally bump into the Poultrygeist and the truth behind the ghost's identity is revealed. It's Sophie the pig standing on top of Clarissa the cow-they were trying to teach the roosters a lesson.

Answer: Erat Anus Quae Vespertilionem Devoravit

Since the subject is singular ("old lady") we use "Erat" ("There was") instead of "Erant". "Anus" is...um...it's, um..it's the common idiomatic way to say "old lady" in a folk-tale context-the word "anus" by itself implies an elderly woman.
"Quae" is "who", and "Vespertilionem Devoravit" is "swallowed a bat".

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat! by Lucille Colandro is a Halloween-themed twist on the rhyme "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" that went:
"There was an old lady who swallowed a fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her" etc. etc.
But in "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat", the old lady swallows a series of Halloweeny things-after swallowing the bat, she swallows an owl, then a cat who chases the owl, then she swallows a ghost, then a goblin, then some bones, and finally a wizard. And finally, instead of dying at the end like in the original rhyme, the old lady yells "Trick or Treat!"