The Tea Dragon Festival is a beautiful, sweet story that is wonderfully illustrated and, for me, had a very calming influence. I'm sorry I missed the first book - The Tea Dragon Society! I need to read that too!

ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher.

I didn't really know what I was getting into, this being my first book by Katie O'Niell. Thankfully, it isn't needed to have read Tea Dragon Society to get into this one though I will definitely going back to read that one. In this story, a girl named Rinn lives in a small mountain village that is also home to many tiny, poofy little stray tea dragons that (as the name implies) grow tea off their elemental bodies that the villagers may use. There is a festival every year to honor this little animals and Rinn is involved in the culinary prep-work, as she's also considering becoming a chef. Out in the forest harvesting mushrooms, she stumbles upon a full fledged dragon who has apparently been sleeping for eighty years and is the supposed protector of the village.

I won't go into further detail, but I will say that the plot flows in a relaxing way. It reminds me of anime like Little Witch Academia, or Laid-Back Camp, with slice-of-life qualities that make the conflict pretty low stakes and containing a sort of peaceful feel. This book would make its home right on the shelf, somewhere between the tween graphic novel and manga collections. The magical elements and world-building are top notch and there's also an educational core to the story, with many villagers communicating through sign language and an apparent (but not overplayed or over-pronounced for reward in any way) diversity of cast, which includes several gender fluid characters. All of this is built into a believable mythology and world, done in vibrant artwork perhaps best described as digital pastel, or something like that.

O'Niell is a standout author and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of her work.

Rating: 4.5/5

The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O'Neill is a lovely graphic novel about Rinn, who is non-binary, trying to find her place in the world. There are tea dragons (little dragons that live in the village, and everyone cares for them), and a large dragon, who can change into human form, but has been asleep a little longer than he planned.

The Tea Dragon Festival was great for it's inclusivity. There were characters speaking in American Sign Language only, some with both ASL and voice, and some just some. This, along with the main character, Rinn being non-binary means it's going to be a very out of the ordinary book, which will make some children (and adults!) feel noticed.

This is the second in the Tea Dragon series, but you don't feel like you're missing out on information when reading it.

The art in this book is lovely! It's such a beautiful, relaxing read that I would recommend it to everyone!

The Tea Dragon Festival is to be published on 17th September 2019, and is available to buy on Amazon and on Waterstones. I've found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Katie O'Neill on Twitter, or through her website.

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Oni Press (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

How adorable is this? I haven't read The Tea Dragon Society, but I didn't feel like it mattered that much. The artwork is adorable and charming and the story is filled with all sorts of creatures and magic and everyday life. I adored this read. It's sweet with a touch of fierceness and a bunch of diversity, which I love! The story itself is easy to read and even though nothing much happens, it's still interesting to follow how the dragon fell asleep for 80 years and get to know the characters.The important part is community, friendship and love. And cute, awful pets in form of tea dragons! This is for the ones who're looking for charming artwork, a unique, magical world and a diverse set of characters.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this gorgeous piece!

/ Denise

Please note I received this as an eARC from Oni Press via Netgalley. This in no way influenced my review, all opinions are honest and my own.

Katie O’Neill has quickly become my favourite graphic novelist. She creates beautifully illustrated soft fantasy stories for young readers about a range of important topics.

The Tea Dragon Festival is a prequel to The Tea Dragon Society and follows Rinn as they find a dragon that’s been in a slumber for 80 years.

O’Neill’s artwork gets better with every work she puts out. In this one every page is bursting with vibrancy and soft edges. She’s also able to convey so much emotion in such a simple way.

I also love how incredibly inclusive this graphic novel is. It includes mostly people of colour, has a non binary protagonist, queer side characters, a deaf side character and a village that all use sign language. It also discusses genderfluidity.

As it is a children’s story, the plot is pretty simplistic but I think any age can gain something from it.

I loved watching Rinn realise that just because she finds something easy to do doesn’t mean that it’s not valuable. It’s such an important message to be giving to children.

Basically, if you’re looking for the sweetest and purest graphic novel full of diversity, look no further.

Katie O'Neill creates amazing books. I will read everything she creates!

The Tea Dragon Festival was such a sweet beautiful book to read. The art is so colorful and just projects brightness and positivity. The story was easy to follow from start to finish and is perfect for all ages.

The art in my e-book Netgally copy is different that the Tea Dragon Society. I'm unsure if this will change once printed but I was a little let down. The style in Tea Dragon Society is perfection, and in Tea Dragon Festival is great just a little lacking.

Thanks Netgalley for a copy! #TheTeaDragonFestival #NetGalley

I want a tea dragon. I’m not sure it’s possible to love a sequel more than the first book. It has to be though. Note that it took me a bit longer this time to get into the story. The first 3rd didn’t have the same charm as the first book. But I stuck with it, mostly because the art is so freaking adorable, and loved how the story came together.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Once again, Katie O'Neill wins my heart over with a beautiful and heart warming story. I loved reading "The Tea Dragon Society" and once I found out that "The Tea Dragon Festival" was coming out I knew I had to read it. Set in the same universe, both books are connected by some elements but you do not need to read one to understand the other.
The artwork is impeccable and the story has a mix of great character building, world building and adventure that makes it impossible to put it down. I love all the characters and how they represent and approach racial diversity, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability in a responsible and natural way.
I am a huge fan of O'Neill's work and I have no doubts everyone will fall in love with this one too. <3

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Rinn is learning to be a chef from her Gramman and is excellent at finding various foods in the forest near their village. While harvesting food one day, she finds a dragon who has been asleep for 80 years. Rinn is familiar with the tea dragons of her village but has never before met a real dragon. Aedhan, the dragon, is ashamed to have fallen asleep for so long when he has been tasked with taking care of Rinn's village. The village welcomes Aedhan, and together, they all celebrate the festival of the tea dragon.

I adored the first book about the tea dragons, so when I saw this companion novel, I knew I had to read it. I love how all the people and other creatures take care of each other in this world. Even when Rinn's uncle Eric and his partner Hesekiel go in search of the creature that put Aedhan to sleep, once they meet the creature, they understand its point of view and let it go after talking to it rather than bringing it in for the bounty on its head. This book is very inclusive. It includes people of all skin tones and includes a deaf character, with others in the village having learned sign language to talk to her. The end of the book contains extracts from the <i>Alpine Tea Dragon Handbook</i> showing the species of tea dragons that were included in this book; it is adorable. I loved this book as much as the first!

This book was definitely one of my most anticipated releases of the year and has fully cemented the fact that I will probably buy anything Katie O'Neill writes in the future.

This story is a prequel to The Tea Dragon Society and you do meet some characters in this story that are in that one as well, which was a great surprise. It really feels like O'Neill is building a world for these stories and I desperately hope there will be many more installments featuring tea dragons and these characters.

I love how seamlessly she works diversity and inclusiveness into her stories, it isn't there as any kind of novelty or anything, it's there because these things are part of everday life and part of people's worlds. This book specifically features a non-binary character and also highlights the use of sign language. Along with that it featured information at the beginning and end for resources regarding sign language, which I thought was a great way to provide information for anyone who is curious after reading.

I will also forever love O'Neill's art style, she has the perfect balance of simplicity and detail and the color are so vivid that the scenes easily come to life. These stories are whimsical and full of fantasy, but still grounded and full of important messages.

The Tea Dragon Festival was absolutely adorable! I’m thoroughly impressed by the author’s ability to write AND illustrate her own book. The art style is so colorful and immediately draws you in!

One aspect I really appreciated was the unique way in which sign language was included. I enjoyed learning sign language as a child, and I think it makes this novel stand out from all the others.

I can’t wait to see what other dragon adventures Katie comes up with!

I received with thanks an ARC copy of The Tea Dragon Festival from Oni Press and Netgalley.

This is my review of The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O'Neil. This will be published on 17th September 2019

This was beautifully written but I am defiantly not the attended audience but I am glad that I read this cute graphic novel.

The Tea Dragon Festival is another beautiful graphic novel by Katie O'Neill. The style and use of color in the artwork is gorgeous and really brings to life this wonderful world of dragons, tea dragons, magical forest creatures and village life. The story takes places before The Tea Dragon Society, and I really enjoyed meeting the younger versions of Hesekiel and Erik, two loveable characters from that book.

In this comic, we follow the story of Rinn, a young village girl who's an aspiring cook and talented forager, who stumbles upon Aedhan, a young dragon who has been asleep for 80-years. Aedhan is plagued by guilt for having not done his duty of taking care of the village residents, but he was put under a sleeping spell by a magical forest creature. Rinn brings Aedhan to the village and the two quickly form a strong, sweet bond as Aedhan picks up his dragon duties and reintegrates to village life. I loved how this story was even more diverse and inclusive than the first book. We have characters who use sign language, different ethnicities, and diverse sexualities, and none of these elements in the story feels contrived.

The tea dragons were just as freaking adorable as in the first book. I want to live in this world and I want to take care of those tea dragons, no matter how pesky they're claimed to be! At the end, O'Neill also included additional information about the tea dragon varieties, and more wonderful history about dragons like Aedhan.

This was a very quick read full of sweet and fluffy things! Recommended to everyone who wants to experience all the good and happy feels! Thanks to NetGalley for providing the e-ARC for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O’Neill is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel that is set before her Tea Dragon Society.
You’ve seen the ridiculously adorable tea dragons from Katie O’Neill’s previous book but this time be prepared to meet an actual dragon (as well as more tea dragons because I’ll never get enough of those little guys)!
Rinn stumbles across Aedhan, a dragon sent to guard her village many years ago whose was put into an enchanted sleep. While Rinn’s Uncle Erik and his partner Hesekiel (if you read Tea Dragon Society yes, yes it’s them. It’s a younger version of them and I was so ridiculously happy to see them again) search to find the mystery behind the slumber Rinn accompanies Aedhan as he finds his place in the village.
O’Neill’s works are soft, sweet, beautifully inclusive, and just plain beautiful. The Tea Dragon Festival is a visual delight and a sweet story about finding yourself, being true to yourself, and what makes a home.

We discover the life of Rinn, a young girl wishing to become a cook. In his village, we live with Tea Dragons, small domesticated dragons. She will meet Aedhan a real dragon, guardians of the village, who unfortunately stayed asleep for 80 years and could not accomplish his mission ...
This is how they will try to unravel the mystery of this long sleep and integrate Aedhan into the current life of the village.

What to say, except that it's sweet and cute?
The story reveals slices of daily life that we discover at the same pace as Aedhan.
We focus quickly on the characters, and the only regret I have is that the volume ends too quickly!

I discovered at the end of the book that it was not the first of the author in this universe, and all of his books now give me a great desire to learn more about this world of Tea Dragons!

The characters in this comic, probably thanks to the pencil of the author, are all endearing.
I really liked Rinn and his family, and I particularly loved the different dragons, and the couple formed by Erik and Hezekiel, which I found filled with sweetness.
The small plus lies in these "small" representations, which are inserted into the story in a non-forced and gentle way: the different variations of skin color and species, the use of sign language to overcome deafness of a character, homosexuality or even a hermaphrodite character (or non-binary, I'm not sure).

A crush on the style of the author ! The line is soft and very simple, with very little contour. It accentuates the softness of the pages and makes the place of colors even more important.

In short… An excellent discovery, which made me very eager to discover the other books of the universe, and more generally all the bibliography of the author! ^^

I really loved this prequel to The Tea Dragon Society. The art style is stunning which matches the story that it is telling. Katie O'Neill's graphic novels are some of my favorites and I was so happy when I was able to read this one early. The whole story of the dragon that was put under an enchanted sleep was intriguing and I just wanted to keep learning more. I love that we got to see characters from the first story and also got to learn more about the world.

I hope Katie O'Neill will continue this series.

<i>I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review</i>

<b>First impression: </b>
This was so CUTE!

<b>Recommended: </b>
Yes! The art is lovely <3 The story is adorable, with some really sweet and relevant life-lessons.

<b> What's it about? </b>
Rinn lives in a little village filled with tea dragons, but finding a real dragon is another thing altogether! Aedhan wants to protect the village, but for some reason, he fell asleep for eighty years!

Don't expect a heavy action-packed story, but if you're looking for something beautiful and sweet, this is your kind of story!

ARC provided by the publisher Oni Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a joy to read. The illustrations are beautiful and captivating. This is such a heart-warming, whimsical story that I did not want to end.

This is my first book by Katie O’Neill and you can bet I will be picking up The Tea Dragon Society from my bookstore soon.

I don’t want to go into the story or detail my thoughts thoroughly as I do not want to spoil anyone from the joy this story brings. 100% recommend.

Thank you again to Oni Press and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read this.

Katie O’Neill has found a way to capture pure magic in her stories and her illustrations. They are always so beautiful, so whimsical, and bring my heart close to bursting.

THE TEA DRAGON FESTIVAL is no exception.

beautiful illustrations, amazing dialogue.


representation:

- deafness (some characters use sign language throughout the novels)
- POC (main character/her grandmother)
- they/them pronouns (main character)
- memory loss aspect.

loved it!