What Gives Aron Nels Steinke Hope

More hope. From the kidlit community, to you.  

No matter where you are. No matter what’s going on around you. No matter what is pulling your attention or competing for space in your mind. May these next few minutes offer you rest, peace, and hope.

Hope - January 17, 2026

Aron Nels Steinke, cartoonist of Speechless (Graphix) and the Mr. Wolf’s Class series (Graphix), shares what is giving him hope today: every morning is a chance for something new.

Listen along:

About the Book:  Speechless by Aron Nels Steinke. Published by Graphix.

From Eisner Award-winning author Aron Nels Steinke comes a heartfelt and funny middle-grade graphic novel about friendship, anxiety, and expressing yourself.

Middle school was supposed to be a fresh start for Mira, who struggles to speak in class even though she can speak at home without a problem. Her former best friend, Chloe, has become her worst enemy, and Mira's only solace is making videos for her secret stop-motion animation channel. But when Chloe's mom has to travel for a family emergency, Mira is horrified to learn that her family has volunteered to let Chloe stay with them. When it feels like everything is going wrong, will Mira ever find her voice?

Transcript:

Aron: "I love this question and it stumped me at first, but then I remembered, you know, every morning is a chance for something new. And I always look forward to the mornings.

I'm a morning person. I didn't always used to be, but just getting up in the morning, taking a shower, making coffee, making breakfast, greeting my family, like, I don't know. It's just something that always keeps me optimistic and positive.

I know there's so much going on that is awful. And there's also really great things happening all the time that we're not highlighting 'cause there's so many, you know, the bad things take the weight. But even with bad news or, you know, the progression of things going in a direction I'm actually quite frightened of, every day I feel very positive."