Zarfkitty, I bet you'll know the answer to this question. I've been trying to remember the name of the high school Latin books I used (so I can pick some up on ebay for old times sake!). They were probably published in the early to mid 80s, the first book was green, the 2nd orange, and the very first lesson was about Italy (Sicilia insula est. Italia insula non est. Italia paene insula est. Italia paeninsula est).
There was another early lesson about farmers watching a little girl, and another with a sailor that saved a girl from the water. I think the orange book started out with the dreaded subjunctive case and a bunch of stories about two friends on a journey together.
Hope this rings a bell!
