The Minimus books are a series of school textbooks, written by Barbara Bell, illustrated by Dr. Helen Forte, and published by the
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer.
Cambridge University Pr ...
, designed to help children of
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
age to learn
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
. The books espouse some of the principles of the
direct method of language teaching, and are named after the mouse Minimus (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
for "smallest", and also a pun on ''mus'' — Latin for "mouse") who is known as "''The mouse that made Latin cool''".
There are two books in the series: ''Minimus: Starting out in Latin'' and ''Minimus Secundus''. While the first book is aimed at 7-10 year olds, the second continues the series for children up to 13 years old.
The stories presented in each chapter revolve around a family. The family is based on a real family who lived at the Roman fort of
Vindolanda
Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort ('' castrum'') just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, which it originally pre-dated.British windo- 'fair, white, blessed', landa 'enclosure/meadow/prairie/grassy plain' (the modern Welsh word ...
in northern Britain in 100 AD. The books feature many artifacts from Vindolanda, integrating real objects into fictional plot lines.
In 2011, it was reported that 125,000 copies had been sold.
Regular characters
*Minimus, a mouse
*Vibrissa (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
for
Whisker
Vibrissae (; singular: vibrissa; ), more generally called Whiskers, are a type of stiff, functional hair used by mammals to sense their environment. These hairs are finely specialised for this purpose, whereas other types of hair are coars ...
), the family cat
*Flavius, the father and fort commander of
Vindolanda
Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort ('' castrum'') just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, which it originally pre-dated.British windo- 'fair, white, blessed', landa 'enclosure/meadow/prairie/grassy plain' (the modern Welsh word ...
*
Lepidina, the mother
*Flavia, the daughter
*Iulius, the older son
*Rufus, the youngest child of the family
*Corinthus, a Greek slave who is excellent at reading and writing
*Candidus, a British slave who is very good at cooking
*Pandora, a slave girl who is a hairdresser
Trifosa, Pandoras replacement
Italian version
In 2007, the Minimus books were adapted for
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
pupils. As a single volume, the material is aimed at an older audience.
The setting of the stories is altered to several European locations
and there is considerably more formal grammar and exercises, in line with Italian teaching methods.
See also
*
Cambridge Latin Course
The Cambridge Latin Course (CLC) is a series of textbooks published by Cambridge University Press, used to teach Latin to secondary school pupils. It provides a grounding in vocabulary, grammar and sense which allows progression through Common ...
References
External links
Minimus website
Education in the United Kingdom
Latin textbooks
{{latin-stub