The illustrations are beautiful just like the last book. I really enjoy the sweetness of all the characters and how they all work together and all genuinely want to help each other. I did find the storyline to be overly simplistic and it lacked tension leaving it flat. Everything worked out too easy without much effort from the characters.

There was some great character development in the main character as she figures out that her job is needed and appreciated. However, it was it only after the dragon told her he appreciates what she does. I would have like this development more if it was after her actions helped others and not just the opinion of a person.

There are clear descriptions of homosexual relationships and gender fluidity.

This reads like an adult trying to write a children's book.

This book is a mood. Calm, serene, slow moving, lots of positivity and warm colours. Very relaxing, and a charming depiction of sign language. Something for a warm summers evening to read about fantasy community and friendly dragons. What a lovely read.

Thank you to Oni Press and Netgalley for providing me a galley of this lovely book!

I have read all of O'Neill's books, and her art style just blossoms more and more every time. This book especially stood out to me as stunning with the gorgeous wordless panels and the "zoom outs" of the landscapes. Along with the art and worldbuilding, this is a sweet story about what it means to have a home.

A sweet and tender blend of fantasy and folklore with a strong respect and love for nature-- everything I have come to expect and love from O'Neill. Looking forward to more Tea Dragon adventures in the future!

For fans of Mushi Shi and the Hilda graphic novels.

I cannot get over how beautiful the artwork that O'Neill makes is, but even if the art were less appealing, the star rating would still be the same, because the stories themselves are utterly charming as well. I also appreciate how casual the representations are; LGBTQ+, protagonists of color, and in Festival, a Deaf character as well.

The Tea Dragon books are captivating for children and the perfect escapism opportunity for adults. Recommend for absolutely everyone.

I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced reader copy of this graphic novel via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I heard about The Tea Dragon Society through a booktuber named BooksWithChloe so when i was met with a chance to read a continuation of the series, i was very delighted.

The representation in this graphic novel was beautifully represented with the author's amazing cutesy art style that reminds me of the picture books i read as a child.

I vey much the apprecite the inclusion of sign language as it isn't something i see a lot in other graphic novels i read (mainly because i only read manga)

Although i wanted to finished this book ASAP, i was just captivated by the art style and kept zooming in my tablet to see the small minimalistic details in the food, flowers etc..

Overall i enjoyed reading this book a lot!

Thank you Netgalley and Oni Press for providing me an ARC of this book, in exchange of an honest review.

I had never read anything by Katie O'Neill, but I'm glad I picked up one of her books now. "The Tea Dragon Festival" was adorable and felt like a warm hug after a long day of work.

"The Tea Dragon Festival" was one of the cutest things I have ever read. Besides, it was wonderfully diverse with a nonbinary main character, most of the characters of color and a lovely talk about gender fluidity.

Also, the art was BEAUTIFUL and honestly enchanting. I loved the art style and, most of all, I loved the tones and colours used, it all gave me such a lovely magical and fantastical atmosphere.

It was amazing, a soft story with some great messages, adorable characters and the most beautiful art style ever. I highly reccommend it if you're in need of some cute and diverse graphic novels in your life!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Just like the first book, this story is once again so charming! This time we follow a set of characters in a time a few years before the first book. So it’s kind of a prequel. It also focuses less on the Tea Dragons themselves and more on members of the society and villages that look after Tea Dragons. This story also has a bit more adventure and intrigue to it. I wish it lasted longer haha! The illustrations again were so beautiful! I love the colour pallet used for the festival lights especially! So whimsical and beautiful! I definitely will be getting myself a copy when it comes out.

Absolutely beautiful graphic novel! I adored the fact that sign language was part of the writing/art and appreciate the diversity of the characters. I'm curious about the previous books but this is definitely one we want to add to our lgbt library collection when it is published!

The Tea Dragon Festival is a companion to Katie O' Neill's The Tea Dragon Society. Despite that, before reading this one, I had not read the first book in this series. Reading it out of order, I still understood everything that was going on, after all, it's not a sequel, it's a companion.
I requested this one on Netgalley mostly because everyone talks about how amazing Katie O'Neill is, and while I do understand the hype, I don't love her books as much everyone does. The biggest strength of these graphic novels is the illustrations. The art is absolutely amazing, I love everything about it, the colors, the lines, etc. However, I think the story is very weak, it's not bad, but it sometimes feels like it's on the background, there isn't a clear plot line.
Besides the art, the diversity included in the story was my favorite part of the book, there are hard of hearing characters, POC, genderqueer characters. I loved it a lot.
I will definitely going to read more of this author, the amazing illustrations make up for the not so great story.

I’d heard everyone raving about The Tea Dragon Society earlier this year so when I got the opportunity to read this beauty early I of course took it.

This whole book just feels so warm. There is really no better way to describe it. It just brings such a smile on my face. The soft and warm colors work so well with the art style and the story. I had to get used to the art style a little. It is very round and soft. No hard angles which I’m not used to but again, it works incredibly well with the story and the characters.

As for the story, this is a companion book. I haven’t read The Tea Dragon Society but I did see that this follows different characters. It is very easy to read this book without having read the first one. In this book we follow Rinn who grew up with the Tea Dragons. She is trying to learn how to cook so she can do more than ‘just’ collect ingredients and herbs. Out during a trip she finds a dragon who has been asleep for 80 years. Rinn helps Aedhan feel welcome back into the world where Aedhan helps her to see that she does have a gift.

There is so much inclusivity in this book that is added in such a normalized way. It was beautiful to read. There is a deaf character for whom most in the village have learned sign language which is also shown on the page. There is poc and lgtbq+ rep. There are non-binary and genderfluid characters. And everything is accepted as it is.
All in all yes The Tea Dragon Festival is one I a 100% recommend for anyone!

Such beautiful illustrations that tell wonderful, important stories and ideas.

Once again, we see representation. Even more this time around, including the deaf community. I was so impressed!

There’s something special in this art, the world, and these comics.

What these pages accomplish prove that ANY novel or novella or comic can do the same. And well.

Once again, TEA DRAGONS! I need one!

Rinn has always cared for the Tea Dragons that live in her quaint little mountain village. One day, while out gathering bits of food, she stumbles upon a real dragon who had been asleep for 80 years. Aedhan had been tasked with protecting Rinn's village and can't seem to remember how or why he fell asleep for so long. With the help of Rinn's uncle Erik and his partner Hesekiel, the group set out to get to the bottom of the enchanted sleep, but Rinn must also help Aedhan come to terms with all the time he's lost.

I adored The Tea Dragon Society, so I was so excited to read this one, and it made me just as happy as the first. Katie O'Neill's artwork and storytelling is so whimsical and never fails to put a smile on my face. There's just something about her work that instantly makes you feel cozy. It's an absolutely adorable story, and I don't feel like you necessarily need to read the first one to understand what's going on. What I also love about these it that after the story, which reads so quickly, there's little tidbits on each Tea Dragon and it just adds that extra element to the story. I dare anyone to read this and not fall in love and wish they had their own Tea Dragon.

The Tea Dragon Society was a lovely read and this sequel (prequel actually) follows suit. The illustrations are wonderful. The story itself was a simple gentle tale. I'm not sure why, but this one did not blow me away like The Tea Dragon Society did -- perhaps it tried to cover a bit too much ground in the story, leaving me wishing for more at various points. However the simple beauty of the world Katie O'Neill has created more than makes up for that.

Katie has such a way with creating seamlessly inclusive worlds that you just want to escape into and live in forever.
This book is no exception to the magic she weaves. A prequel full of heart. I am so glad I read it. I can't wait to own it. I want all of the tea dragons!

The Tea Dragon Festival is a kind of story that will fill you with happiness and good vibes. It is a tale about finding your home and being part of something.

I just fell in love with this book. The art is so colorful and whimsical. I could not get tired of looking at it. I especially like how the forest scenery and little tea dragons were drawn. They are just so adorable.

The story itself is wonderful. It features a community who live together and help each other. They even learn sign language when one of them is born deaf. It is also worth mentioning that it features nonbinary and POC characters. There’s no prejudice, but only love, support, and understanding. It would be such a pretty image if the world we were living on were the same as Rinn’s community. Also, this comics used both verbal and sign language and throughout the comic. There was even an introduction of ASL in the beginning.

I did not know that it was a companion comic when I requested this. So I will definitely be going to read the first one. Reading this book is such a warm and lovely experience.

Overall, The Tea Dragon is a cute fantasy story with beautiful illustrations and diverse characters. If you’re looking for a feel-good story, you should pick this up.

5/5 stars!

I happily reviewed Katie O'Neill's The Tea Dragon Festival back in August of 2017, and while I felt this one did not quite match up to the high standard that one set (I really enjoyed that one!), I still think this is a worthy read. It expands on the original story and adds new folklore, and has some interesting new characters.

The author's artwork is of the same high standard as before, but the story felt to me a little bit more meandering. I should say up front that I'm not a fan of series because they tend to be little more than a retreading of the original story. Like retreaded tires, they're not worth the money, and are typically boring to me. This was not one of those sequels I was happy to see. It did have some more story to tell that was new and different.

As I said before, the tea dragon story book is everything that the overly-commercialized 'My Little Pony' garbage ought to have been, but failed so dismally to get there. The tea dragon stories do get there, and by a different and far more interesting route. The little dragons are renowned for the tea they produce through leaves which grow on their horns and antlers. Those leaves contain memories which the drinker can share, but they cannot grow without a true bond between the Tea Dragon and its care-giver. And no, you cannot buy that tea commercially!

Rinn, the protagonist here, grew up with tea dragons and is used to their being around and their habits and foibles, but in this outing she runs into a real dragon named Aedhan, who has been sleeping for a very long time. This enchanted sleep is a mystery that begs to be solved, and Rinn is up to the job! I commend this story as a fun and worthy read.

First off want to give a big thank you for being approved for this egalley of the tea dragon festival.

I have read all of Katie o Neill’s books before this and already I loved them all so much so when I went into this I had a little incline what this will be like but of course Katie raises the bar every time and always improves with every book she brings out.

Like the rest of the books this story was just amazing it’s so light hearted,fun and so cute and it just makes me smile from ear to ear.

I loved the characters so much and I really enjoyed the journey they went on throughout this book and I loved the underlined message it has running through this book. My fav two characters were rinn and her companion that she meets on the way Aedhan who is a dragon. Their bond was so beautiful and loved how Rinn always made sure Aedhan was okay and welcome with open arms. What is special about Aedhan is that he can transform from dragon to human form which was cool to see. And love how he protected everyone around them when they were put in a little sticky situation.

The illustrations in this book are just beautiful I just love how vibrant and bright every page u look at is. Like I said earlier just seeing all these colours makes u feel happy and puts u in a good mood. The diversity in colour is always amazing to see aswell from colour of skin to the not pointed out that much but sexuality.


Overall this book was just a amazing read and one that u could definitely read and show to kids which is always a plus. If u couldn’t tell aswell this is a 5/5 star read. Super feel good

Absolutely stunning. A few things that make The Tea Dragon Festival stand out:

- The Art - It really feels like every page was hand painted, and the emotion comes through strongly. I was especially impressed by the way light dappling through the trees was shown.
- Sign Language - some of the characters use sign language to communicate, which is so inclusive and will teach readers a bit about something they might not understand.
- The Imagination - There are many scenes that are so richly imagined, you just want to jump into the page and live in that world. One in particular is near the beginning when Rinn is foraging for food in the forest. I would read an entire book of just that excursion.

Over all, reading this book gave me a unique sense of peace and joy. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Katie O'Neill's other books, Studio Ghibli movies, or who just wants to challenge their imagination with a beautiful fantasy world.

A prequel to Tea Dragon Society, The Tea Dragon Festival takes place in a small mountain village and focuses on a young girl named Rinn. She discovers a dragon in the mountains who had fallen asleep for 80 years, missing decades of protecting the village. Rinn shows the dragon the village and helps him to feel at home.

Katie O'Neill is the queen of gentle fantasy for middle grade readers. Her art is cute and comforting. I always want to get lost in the scenes and places she creates. The village is idyllic, with diverse and welcoming people. I loved that she incorporated sign language into the graphic novel, something I haven't seen before.

If you're looking for a cozy, beautiful story, this is the perfect book to get lost in for an afternoon.

**I received an e-ARC from Netgalley**

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy.

I've been hearing a lot of good thing about this series and Katie O'Neill and they are all true. This is by far the cutest thing I've read this year! I recommend checking it out and it is good for young readers.