The Minimus books are a series of school textbooks, written by Barbara Bell, illustrated by Helen Forte, and published by the Cambridge University Press, designed to help children of primary school age to learn Latin. The books espouse some of the principles of the direct method of language teaching, and feature a mouse of the same name; is (Latin for "smallest", and also a pun on — Latin for "mouse". Minimus is known by the publisher as "the mouse that made Latin cool". There are two books in the series: Minimus: Starting out in Latin and Minimus Secundus. The first book is aimed at 7- to 10-year-olds, and the second continues the education 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 near Hadrian’s Wall in northern Britain. 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 for Whisker), the family cat
Flavius, the father and fort commander of Vindolanda
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, Pandora’s replacement
Italian version
In 2007, the Minimus books were adapted for Italian 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.