There is a library in our school. It is near our classroom. It is on the first floor. Our school library is not very big, but it is very nice. There are many books in the library. Some are in Chinese, some are in English. I like reading very much. I often go there to borrow(借）books. The librarian is a woman. She is very good. We all like her very much.

    Have you ever heard of Weifang, Shandong Province? What is it known for? There is an international kite festival every April in Weifang. It is a modern city with many traditions. People from all over the world compete in the kite flying in Weifang. There are also competitions for the best kites. The kites in the competition are all made by hand.

    Most people have flown a kite. It makes people happy. It's easy to make it. It's made of bamboo and paper. But not so many people know that kites were first made in China thousands of years ago. The ancient Chinese made and flew kites even before they could write.

    A long time ago, the Chinese made kites to use in wars. They would fly these war kites in the dark. The kites were fixed and they made strange sounds in wind. Men who were at war against them would hear these sounds and run away. They thought those strange sounds were made by gods in the sky.

    The ancient Chinese also flew kites to bring good luck and to make their crops (稻谷) grow rich and tall. Sometimes they tied long strings and hooks(绳子和钩子) to their kites. Then they would fly the kites over water, letting the hooks hang down to catch fish.

    The Chinese use sticks, string and paper for their kites. Some of these kites look like animals or trees and others look like houses.

    Have you ever wanted to have a doll that could talk to you? In the book The Ventriloquist's Daughter, a girl named Liur gets a doll like this. But it doesn't turn out to be as fun as she thought

    Lin Man-Chiu, an author from Taiwan, wrote the book. British translator Helen Wang translated it into English. The book tells a touching story about Liur and her father.

    Liur loses her mother at a young age. Her grandfather sends her father to a medical school in the US. Five years later, he comes back with a doll named Carola, as he once promised he would. This doll is quite unusual—it can talk! However, Carola makes a lot of problems for the family.

    After reading this book, I thought Liur and her father were just unlucky. In fact, this story is based on the author's own unhappy childhood. She had six sisters. Still, her grandfather wanted a grandson. Her father was under heavy pressure and didn't live with her and her sisters for a very long time. The author didn't like her father when she was young. But now she has forgiven him. The talking doll Carola stands for her father's burden （负担）.

    After I learned this, I understood the author's main message. Everyone has demons （心魔）in their lives, but we should do our best to beat them.