Latin
Conversational Latin for Oral Proficiency
Conversational Latin for Oral Proficiency (Third edition) is a beefy, but easy-to-use supplement for Latin teachers and older Latin students.. Each of the twenty-five chapters tackles a particular subject matter; providing Latin and English conversations on three different difficulty levels and an extensive list of topical vocabulary and related phrases (some chapters also include suggested classroom activities and additional notes).
501 Latin Verbs Fully Conjugated in All the Tenses
This is a dream come true for teachers, like myself, struggling to keep up with a group of teenagers studying Latin. Quite simply the book devotes one page to each of 501 verbs. Each verb has all of its endings written out completely and includes the four principle parts. Some notes at the bottom of each page offer "compound and related words", "alternate forms", "usage notes", and a model Latin sentence using the word. (These are written by famous authors of old!) The format is very user-friendly and easy to read. The verbs are arranged alphabetically in Latin.
Who Loves Me? / Quis me amat?
Illustrator(s):
Michelle Kathryn Fraczek
This book introduces names of family members - mother, father, sister, brother, grandfather, grandmother, fraternal and paternal aunt and uncle, cousins and God - through the eyes of a baby. I liked how small details on some of the pictures - like the words on a T-shirt - are written in Latin (and the translations are included in the back along with the rest of the text). The text is charming, but these pictures are a bit on the "goofy" side (very cartoon like and some weird proportions).
How Many Animals?/Quot Animalia?
Illustrator(s):
Kristie Stock
What a great idea - simple Latin readers to introduce young children to the language. Big pictures are paired with large, clear print, just like an English easy-reader. This first book in the series is a simple picture book with very nicely drawn, realistic pen and ink illustrations. The format allows readers to intuitively figure out what some basic words mean by connecting them with the pictures. The text introduces 13 types of animals, offering each Latin word in the singular and plural.
Latin for Beginners (Passport's Language Guides)
Illustrator(s):
John Shackell
In the typical Usborne style, this book offers lots and lots of cartoon-like pictures with Latin dialogue and descriptions and quite a bit of grammar and other tidbits along the way. The pictures are a little goofy (I think they use the same pictures for all the different languages they have out in this series), but the book is packed with content (particularly for the price). This might make an especially nice supplement for grade school students studying Latina Christiana or another early Latin text.
What Will I Eat?/Quid Edam?
Illustrator(s):
Michelle Kathryn Fraczak
Lots of silly black-and-white pictures (which will likely appeal to certain funny-bones) and simple text introduce readers to the Latin words for many types of food. You'll find a monster eating pizza, a cow suggesting pork instead of beef, a hot dog enjoying a soda and... lots of good Latin content. Not my favorite book in this series, but perhaps not a bad way to introduce young children to some relevant Latin vocabulary.
What Color Is It?/Quo colore est?
Translator(s):
Mardah B C Weinfield
Illustrator(s):
Yana Igorevna Myaskovskaya
This title offers charming, child-friendly pen-and-ink illustrations to introduce the colors (in Latin) to young children. The text is quite a bit more complex than How Many Animals? Quot Animalia?, but would provide a good opportunity for young Latin scholars to practice their pronunciation by reading the book aloud to a younger sibling. Since the topic is "colors", I think this book will be best enjoyed if an artist in the family colors in the illustrations first. Translations and glossary are in the back.