credit:pingnews.comOn a recent visit to the school library I met a delightful second grader named Kayla. Before we read together, we chatted. Kayla more than held her own.

With a lilt to her voice she spoke lovingly of her family, but included that her thirteen year old brother sometimes teased her. I asked what she did in return. She said without hesitation,

“I tell him that love is the answer to hate.”

“Really Kayla? Who taught you that?” I asked.

She replied brightly, “Dr. Martin Luther King said that. Love is the answer to hate.”

What impressed me the most was the truth she gave to the words. In Kayla, Dr. King’s message lives on. Maybe her generation will live to see love triumph over hate. It is a big order, but with more children growing up with Kayla’s attitude, there’s hope.

We continued our talk for a while before reading a wonderfully warm family story titled, The Patchwork Quilt, by Valerie Flouroy and illustrated beautifully by Jerry Pinkney.

Our time together was supposed to have been a special treat for Kayla. Turns out, it was a treat for me.

Mary Taylor, www.theschoolmarm.com