This was my first read from Katie O'Neill and I was afraid of starting from the second book. However, I enjoyed this one. The art was too cute for words.

This book was so cute and adorable. The story was also very nice and wholesome. The art was so colorful and fun and cute. Yeah, this was cute and totally worth the hype it's been getting.

I got an ARC of this from Oni Press on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It comes out September 17th!

After reading The Tea Dragon Society, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the sequel. It's cute, funny, heartwarming, and absolutely adorable. Both volumes are super quick to read but are also packed with important life lessons.

I recommend this to everyone!

I absolutely loved this. It was so whimsical, and the story flowed really well. I loved the way this graphic novel built on Hese and Erik's relationship from the previous book. It was just brilliant, and it made me really happy to read. I really want to get more of Katie O'Neill's work!

5 Stars, ARC acquired from Oni Press through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wholesome, sweet, and what it means to be loved within a community. I just loved this graphic novel and the art is just fabulous!

It just filled me with warmth and happiness!

With diverse characters, and Hearing impaired rep woven within, this is a novel not, only for children but adults as well.

This was the perfect sequel, or should I say prequel, to The Tea Dragon Society. I loved learning more about Erik's family, his and Hesekiel's past, and more new characters! Rinn and Aedhan were so cute, and they learned so much from each other. I can't wait to see if more comes from this series! And I'm very excited for September!

I was provided this graphic novel (as an advanced reader copy) by NetGalley. All views expressed in this review are my own.

This was just as cute as The Tea Dragon Society, to which this is a companion and sequel. You don't have to have read the first book in order to read this one, but I would recommend it just because they're both good. This gives us extra backstory into two characters, but mostly focuses on other characters while keeping those two as minor characters (but it does show off their adventuring days). Once again there is mlm rep as well as disability rep, with a deaf character and multiple characters using sign language. Definitely a lovely expansion into the world.

Rinn lives in a village with her grandmother and creatures called Tea Dragons. It's a “gatherer society” the inhabitants forage for mushrooms, roots and leaves. They drink tea and make merriment. Everyone knows sign language. While on an errand to gather herbs for her grandmother, Rinn encounters a dragon which is larger than she'd ever imagined. The dragon is big, beautiful, handsome with angels’ wings and a clean smile. We learn the dragon’s name is “Aehdan” and he has been asleep for many years due to an enchantment from an unknown creature who is still at large. When Uncle Erik shows up with his companion, Hesekiel, motives become apparent and come full circle.

This was an absolutely delightful book by the author of THE DRAGON TEA SOCIETY. You do not have to read the first one to understand the second. I wrote down a list of ideas that sparked my imagination-- gender-fluid dragons, barley tea festivals, and memory food (like something out of a Harry Potter book). Personally, any mention of barley tea is nostalgic and will immediately warm me to the book. There’s something comforting and familiar about the illustrations as well. The Tea Dragons resemble Pokémon except they wander around asking for food, begging for attention and have no power. They're adorable pets--their only commonality to the dragons is one ancestor. The various breeds are mountain chamomile, marshmallow, and fennel. The pictures of food are colorful shapes and have the consistency of Asian food. The list of sign language resources at the back of the book was a bonus I didn't expect.

I can’t to wait to see what Katie O’Neill will come out with next. THE TEA DRAGON FESTIVAL will appeal to children and adults alike. Target ages are elementary school students and older kids, especially those who are reluctant readers.

Thanks to Oni Press for the digital ARC through NetGalley.

This loose prequel to The Tea Dragon Society features Hesekiel and Erik in their younger days. It's a beautifully drawn, gentle tale of friendship and magic with the adorable tea dragons and this time, a full size dragon! Fans of Katie O'Neill's other work will not be disappointed. It's also the first time I've seen a character in a comic/graphic novel using sign language, which was pretty cool.

I have seen the Tea Dragon Festival described as a gentle fantasy and that description is perfectly apt. The art here is beautiful and the story is gentle and quiet. I typically wouldn’t buy a graphic novel geared toward younger readers for my academic library, but I am probably going to make an exception and recommend this one, largely because I think there will be interest in a graphic novel with a non-binary protagonist and an important secondary character who is deaf and communicates using sign language.

I’d give these books five stars on illustrations alone, but the stories are adorable too. I’m glad this was a prequel because I was able to see how the Society was created and some of the younger versions of the characters. This one included sign language, which was inclusive and neat to see applied in a graphic novel format!

You'll see me with a tattoo of the scenery from this series at some point, I'm 100% sure of it.

Katie O'Neill is an auto-buy. Her stories are so heartfelt and the art is just absolutely stunning. Although geared for younger children, I still would recommend this graphic novel (and all of her works) to people of all ages. Reading a Katie O'Neill graphic novel feels like getting a hug, or sitting in a cozy chair sipping some calming tea. I cannot express how much I love her work,

This book takes you onto a travel to the tea dragon society and the festival they are planning. This book runs against everything you as an adult reader might normally expect from a book like a strong plot line, a conflict or a mystery that needs solving, all these kind of things.

You will not find anything of this in this book, instead you live through a moment in time that happens before during and after the tea dragon festival.

You meet an interesting community living and thriving in the woods sharing their place with the tea dragons. There are ever so interesting diverse individual characters and visitors popping in on a quest of their own and the main character finds some answers during this time of the tea dragon festival.

When I was finished I was pondering if this book was not too soft, too positive. But, I also had to admit, it took me to a place where I just could rest and be and enjoy this moment living in this world that unfolded in front of my eyes. A place where you can imagine people living peacefully alongside each other, caring for each other and cooperation being the way that each one has agreed upon. Imagination is the place where it all starts.

This is a book that is best cherished in physical form, and owned, so you can return to it as many times as you wish.

The art in this book is amazing. It has a very specific colour palate which I loved. The thought, love and care that has gone into each of the many frames/images speaks for itself, I could feel it coming out of each page, and I was reading an eARC from the publisher in return of an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and katie O'neill for sending me an arc of this graphic novel! I really enjoyed it, it made me smile and laugh and I want another one! Can we get a third one?? 5/5 stars!(:

One of my favorite graphic novels is The Tea Dragon Society. When I saw that this was available for request on NetGalley, I jumped the chance to request this book. The magic, the dragons, everything about this book made this book such a fast read. One of my favorite things about this book was the fact that it used sign language as part of the storytelling. It's something that was so beautiful to see. Shows all the diversity and inclusion, besides sexuality.

The illustrations of this story was just as beautiful as The Tea Dragon Society. Just eye popping art. One of the reasons that I have been very into Katie O'Neil's books.

Overall, I wanted to try and read all of Katie O'Neil's books. This just upped that edge a little bit more.

This graphic novel was precious and wholesome and cute and lovely and diverse and I could literally go on and on about how wonderful it was. I think anyone can read it,people of all ages. And the art style was so beautiful! I now need to read everything by Katie O'Neill.
Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed The Tea Dragon Festival even more than I enjoyed The Tea Dragon Society—and I enjoyed The Tea Dragon Society A LOT. I think part of what made this new addition to the Tea Dragon world even better than the first was its length. This graphic novel is nearly twice as long as the first and the story really benefited from that. Since The Tea Dragon Festival was longer we got more world building that helped explained any of the gaps left at the end of the first book.

The Tea Dragon Society included a diverse cast of characters and the diversity continues even more in this book. O’Neill creates an inclusive world that feels almost effortless. For example, in this book a deaf character, Lesa, is introduced. The main character, Rinn, explains that everyone in their village learned sign language to communicate with Lesa. I loved that the village was supportive of Lesa in this way. The sign language was also well drawn, with an excellent explanation guide to what color and shape speech bubbles would indicate what type of sign language in the beginning of the book.

The main character Rinn also used they/them pronouns. There were no moments when Rinn wasn’t accepted by their family and village. But I did like seeing their curiosity over whether dragons who shape shift between human and dragon forms could also shape shift between male and female forms. I thought it added an excellent layer to their character and how they felt about their own identity.

The Tea Dragon Festival is a beautiful graphic novel. Similar to the first Tea Dragon novel, it has messages of love and acceptance, and of finding a place where you belong. Additionally, the art is absolutely stunning. I could flip through this book just to enjoy the art alone. I highly recommend this inclusive, adorable story. You won’t regret picking it up—although you may regret that tea dragons aren’t real because they’re really cute and you’ll probably wish you had one.

Love this! I would demand more comics in the series!!!
Such a great work.
Thank you for the opportunity to read it early. I'm sure the printed version is 100 times better.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was SQUEALING the whole time that I was reading this because it is so gosh darn cute. It melted my heart. There are such wholesome messages of diversity, acceptance, and love within.

Side Note: The grumpy mountain chamomile tea dragon IS me. I want one of my own.

Link to GoodReads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2908669410

E-galley provided by Oni Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Quotes and pinions in this review are based off an uncorrected proof

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"Just because something comes easily to you, does not mean it has no value. You find it effortless because you love it, and that is why it is your gift."

So something I wasn't expecting was that this book is not only a companion book, but also a prequel. It has some characters form The Tea Dragon Society from when they were younger (It was awesome).

SO the first best thing about this book is the characters. If you thought you loved the characters from the first book??? Well,get ready all over again! These characters are sweet, adorable, and so very entertaining. They are the main reason why this book is as wholesome as it is. I have to say that Erik, Mr. Stretching-My-Arms-Above-My-Head-Always, maybe my favorite. Again. You can't possibly blame me he is adorable. My runner-up is literally everyone else in this book, I love everyone so darn much.

The ART! THE ART! Yes, its as gorgeous as you imagine! The dragons look so cute and the village looks amazing! I really love this art style, I would buy a million art prints in this style because I think it just radiates comfort, happiness, and beauty. It's a very aesthetic book with an amazing color palette. It's also an art style that makes all food look amazing and I get so hungry just thinking about it

I would be remiss in not mentioning the level of representation in this fantasy setting. Characters using ASL casually in the village was amazing to see. I get so upset that ASL isn't more widely taught in the US and I think having it in a book like this would really spark people's drive to learn it. Also, having so many brown people is just an awesome treat that I will never not love. It's something I loved about the first book too. Honestly, books like this just bring so much joy to my heart!

Finally, the story. I really love how simple the book was along with the emotional places it goes. This plot is far from complex, but takes its time in developing different themes of family, friendships, and dreams. I really loved that it had these beautiful quotes that made you think as well as pages that just made you smile.

TL;DR If you liked the first one, you'll love this one. If you haven't read either??? Get on it! It's sweet, wholesome, and will heal your childhood heart! Also, cute dragons!