Essays, book reviews, short stories, and literacy tips for teachers and parents from Catherine Sauer, English teacher and writer.https://sauerannotated.com/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/lamb-to-the-slaughter-review/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/lamb-to-the-slaughter-review/Roald Dahl's short story about a perfect housewife, a frozen leg of lamb, and the most satisfying dinner party in literature. My students loved it. I can see why.Mon, 09 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sauerannotated.com/posts/romeo-and-juliet-review/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/romeo-and-juliet-review/Shakespeare's famous love story is a cover of an Ovid myth from 1,600 years earlier. Both are about love. Both are mostly about not waiting five minutes.Mon, 09 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sauerannotated.com/posts/the-monsters-we-carry/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/the-monsters-we-carry/A little girl hiding in a closet, the woman she became, and the day she finally opened the door.Mon, 09 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sauerannotated.com/posts/the-oval-portrait-review/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/the-oval-portrait-review/Edgar Allan Poe's shortest masterpiece is about a painter so busy capturing his wife that he never actually looks at her. It takes ten minutes to read and stays with you much longer.Mon, 09 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sauerannotated.com/posts/frankenstein-review/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/frankenstein-review/A man spends two years building the perfect partner, then ghosts him on day one. Mary Shelley wrote the original situationship, and it still holds up.Sun, 08 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sauerannotated.com/posts/in-the-dark/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/in-the-dark/Five lines about the kind of love the world doesn’t get to see.Sun, 08 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sauerannotated.com/posts/ive-read-this-one/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/ive-read-this-one/A sonnet about a story you recognize by the second chapter.Sun, 08 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sauerannotated.com/posts/little-bird/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/little-bird/Six years of silence, one Thanksgiving, and thirty minutes in a Jeep with the brother she hasn’t forgiven.Sun, 08 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sauerannotated.com/posts/orange-cheese-and-purple-grapes/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/orange-cheese-and-purple-grapes/A snack for a toddler, a memory of jelly shoes, and a six-year-old looking for a new mother.Sun, 08 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sauerannotated.com/posts/pass-the-potatoes-wonder/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/pass-the-potatoes-wonder/A book about a kid who looks different, and three dinner questions that get families talking about kindness, courage, and who we let sit with us.Sun, 08 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sauerannotated.com/posts/someone-to-stay/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/someone-to-stay/The love I imagine, the love I grew up with, and the little girl still waiting in between.Sun, 08 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sauerannotated.com/posts/teenager-translator-analyze/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/teenager-translator-analyze/The most common word on English assignments, decoded. Spoiler, it is not "summarize," and the difference is worth points.Sun, 08 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sauerannotated.com/posts/the-library-after-dark/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/the-library-after-dark/Deep blue wallpaper, never-ending shelves, and one reader who knows exactly which row she's looking for.Sun, 08 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sauerannotated.com/posts/the-only-moon/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/the-only-moon/Something frantic moves in the dark, and the hunter in the burrow wakes up hungry.Sun, 08 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sauerannotated.com/posts/what-to-say-when-reading-is-boring/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/what-to-say-when-reading-is-boring/"Reading is boring" is almost never about reading. Here is what it usually means, and what to say instead of "but it's good for you."Sun, 08 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sauerannotated.com/posts/when-i-wake/https://sauerannotated.com/posts/when-i-wake/A short poem about the light someone brings, and the morning that comes after.Sun, 08 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT