Member Reviews
Wow! Honestly I'm blown away by this. This isnt my typical read, but I enjoyed this so much. It's light hearted, had great lessons and the relationships in this are just so pure and enjoyable.
The art. The art is everything. This is one of the most beautiful graphic novels I have read in a long time. I plan to buy all three volumes and read them to my kid as well. I'm sure he'll be asking for his very own tea dragon. 🖤
Thank you so much for providing me with this title for review. This is the kind of wholesome content we need in the world right now.
I didn't quite gel with the story and the art of this book. I buddy read this with my younger sibling and we both couldn't get into the story itself.
The Tea Dragon series is such a wonderful series that there's literally no reason to not to read this! The Tea Dragon Tapestry is the third volume and continues magnificently the story line. I really love the thoughtfulness and the tranquility of the stories. Greta takes care of Ginseng now, but sadly so the little dragon cannot get past the loss of its previous owner. At the same time Greta tries her best to become the blacksmith Kleitos' apprentice by creating something only she can make. Minette struggles with who she is and who she's supposed to be. All the other characters help these two with their journeys to find the best way to be and live. There's beautiful philosophy, peace and understanding that's deep and profound. Such an outstanding series! I just wish we could see more of the past.
The art is once again splendid with rich and vivid colors without black line art. This softens the comic and it's the perfect choice. O'Neill moves the story so well, sometimes with words and other times with pictures alone and this combination is wonderful. The Tea Dragon Tapestry works for everyone and offers different things to different readers. It's very rich and multifaceted and you cannot but to enjoy this.
I got an ARC of this book.
A few things have become clear to me while reading this book and this series:
1. I have been born in the wrong world. I should have been raising tea dragons and making tapestries.
2. O’Neill is amazing and I should just assume I will love any book she puts out.
3. This is a shining example of what diversity in children’s books should be.
So tea dragons are the best invention since tea. The dragons are so full of personality and they are exactly the sort of creature I would devote my life to. They are honestly perfection. I have the card game and no matter how many times I play it, the dragons never lose their appeal. This book is really a wrap-up for all the humans and one dragon dragon in the series, but the tea dragons are around doing tea dragon things. The more lore that is revealed about tea dragons the more that I love them.
The art is gorgeous. The plots are touching. I loved this book. I just can’t think of enough good things to say about it. I have already annoyed people by making them listen to me reading it and sending them my reactions while demanding they read it. Every few pages was another thing I just found breathtaking.
The diversity is not forced. It is natural and it works in the story. There is not diversity for diversity sake. You can tell when an author is just ticking boxes to get in the right character to be cool. O’Neill doesn’t do that. The characters are alive and the way they are makes sense. There are sometimes plots around the diversity, but rarely in the way that feels like that is all the character exists for. In this book, one of the characters talks about how he handled finding a new passion in life after while adventuring he had an accident. The fact the character was in a wheelchair has never been hidden, but it was never a huge portion of the book. Instead of it being about how “brave” he is, it was about how he learned that just because you lived your life one way for years doesn’t mean that your life will always be that way. He found a love for being domestic that he never expected since he was an adventurer and always had been. The amount of life and depth the characters have is just astounding.
This is a great book and the series is magnificent. Highly recommend.
This is the review I made for myself: This is what I would describe as a soft and delicate story. Would be great for reluctant readers or someone not familiar with graphic novels, but not finding enough plot for an hour-long discussion with MG readers. Themes of heritage, grief, planning for your future, relationships, and what makes a home. Katie O'Neill makes beautiful books with sweet messages. Would definitely recommend for readers who love dragons or want a nice, sweet story.
** A copy of The Tea Dragon Festival was provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review **
Okay, this settles it - Katie O'Neill is now one of my favourite artists. Her panels are gorgeous and this prequel to The Tea Dragon Society is a beauty! It has so many things to love: mythical creatures, tea, love, family and environmentalism. What I loved most was how O'Neill dealt with mature topics such as finding your calling, loving your family, gender identity, and protecting the environment - all while creating the most adorable tea dragons!
Overall, this is a beautiful books - in its story and its art. I can't wait to see what O'Neill comes up with next.
So last one ( maybe for now) of the Tea dragon series, I'm sad this one is over. Love it as always, the art is lovely, the story and the characters. So Happy I got the review copy earlier, I already had it on preorder, so to an review copy early was the Best Thing. So if you have read the 2 other books you also need the Last one.
Thanks to netgalley and Oni press for the review copy.
A new Tea dragon book!
Thank you to the publisher or giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
Man I just love this! I don't understand how there are people in the world who wouldn't enjoy the tea dragon books. It's so fluffy, the artwork is beautiful and the story is simply something to simp for.
This one focuses a lot on grief. Ginseng is still finding it hard to open up even though it has been a year. I think the author has done a great job at making sure to let the readers know that grief takes time. You won't be over something in a day or two and that is okay. Even after a year it's still okay. I think it's an important message that needs to be told sometimes hence why I think this is great.
I really loved the story and I really just want to buy them all as a collection because they are simply so beautiful but also so cute and wholesome. I hope for more installments in the series because I really enjoyed this one so much and I can't wait to read about the other ones!
ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I have the vaguest sense that the story was simpler than the previous volume but the art was so soft and pretty, and the characters were so engaging that it really didn't need layers of meaning. This was a sweet simple tale about working out what you want to do with your life or reappraising when things turned out differently to how you expect. Once again there is plenty of diverse representation - race, ethnicity, disability, sexuality and gender - and many favourite characters from previous books return in cameo roles. This was super cute and the art is gorgeous. Highly recommend the whole series.
The Tea Dragon trilogy has been a sweet and gentle read. Set in a world with a wide diversity of people, both in race and species (and abilities), it tells quiet stories of small town life. The author has some other children’s graphic novels as well which are also mild fantasy tales appropriate for very young readers. The art style is well suited to the stories with soft colors and lines.
I absolutely love the Tea Dragon series. I love the soft art style and the natural integration of magic and queerness into the world. I love that the series features characters experiencing emotional depths, and this installment was no different. Desperately hoping to bring a Rooibos dragon into my home. Please let me know if you find one.
While still very sweet and plenty adorable, this last volume hits harder on the feelings. We have Min dealing with not knowing where she belongs, and little Ginseng still in mourning. It broke my heart! The illustrations are fantastic, showing the passing of time in the little details, not only with the characters being older and having different hair.
Greta being really determined to show her blacksmith talent while taking excellent care of Ginseng, gave me so many feelings and a tear or two may have fallen. I read all the volumes today but I already know I will keep these characters and this story with me forever. The tenderness, the magic, the love. All of it.
The third volume in the Tea Dragon series. Like it's precursors, The Tea Dragon Tapestry is a sweet and colorful graphic novel that explores the experiences of the residents of a small village. The series is LGBTQ+ friendly, inclusive, and features a cast that includes humans, fantasy creatures, dragons, and hybrids of those categories. If you need a smile, pick up at Tea Dragon book and you'll be grinning in no time
I am a sucker for the Tea Dragon books, and this one is no different. I will admit that I paid way less attention to the actual plot of the story than the art, but I’m not even ashamed to admit that because O’Neill is one of my favorite graphic novel artists. Her illustrations are always vibrant and whimsical; and she creates such diverse and interesting characters. It saddens me to think this is the end of the tea dragon tales.
Where are my Tea Dragon Society fans at?! @strangelykatie has her third book in the series being published this September!!!!! Thank you @onipress and @netgalley for the ARC of The Tea Dragon Tapestry🐉🍵 If you are familiar with these books, then you already know that they are everything wholesome and lovely and inspiring you could ever hope for in a story. If you ever wanted a book that was the equivalent of a warm embrace and a soothing cup of tea for your soul, these books are it!
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Synopsis: Join Greta and Minette once more for the heartwarming conclusion of the award-winning Tea Dragon series! Over a year since being entrusted with Ginseng’s care, Greta still can’t chase away the cloud of mourning that hangs over the timid Tea Dragon. Meanwhile, Minette receives a surprise package from the monastery where she was once training to be a prophetess. Told with the same care and charm as the previous installments of the Tea Dragon series, The Tea Dragon Tapestry welcomes old friends and new into a heartfelt story of purpose, love, and growth.
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I wish tea dragons were real, but alas the chamomile, lavender, and lemongrass in my garden will have to be enough. This book is definitely another⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Book from author Katie O’Neill.
ARC provided by Oni Press.
"You feel like you’ve lost your path. It’s natural to be sad. It’s alright to let those feelings wash over you, and give them time to soak into the earth. That’s when things start to grow again." (page 63)
Wow, how I needed to hear this lately.
Katie O'Neill has doen it again. I have yet to read all of her books, but what I've read so far was all so well written and with great messages throughout the books. This one was no different. It's just something about her books, because they have the perfect combination of beautiful artwork, a cast of characters and a world that instantly feels like home. I only feel delight whenever I revisit the "Tea Dragons" world.
This volume is about finding your path when you feel like you've lost it, finding out who you are as a new person, different from who you were before. About being afraid you'll never find your way ever again. And as someone who has struggled and still continues to struggle with that, I guess I needed this kind of a read today.
"…perhaps passion takes many forms. Perhaps it becomes quiet and tired, and needs time to rest."(page 93)
"Everything that happens is part of your wholeness. The sadness,the loss, the hurt,as well as the joy, thelove, the friendship--it is all part of your tapestry" (page 100)
Katie O'neill has impressed me since her first jobs and meeting her was one of the life-changing events, in this case her illustrations are so warm, beautiful and sweet, that you are happy every time you see one, a warm and With the sweetness of tea on a journey that gives us magical beings and dragons like we have never seen them before, it is an original story with the touch of an artist that only Katie can offer.
In this last installment you can see that a year has passed and our protagonists continue their journey of life, in the you can see that it focuses on understanding yourself and your true passions and knowing yourself through the choices you make and in the friendships you forge.
It was beautiful, and sad since it is the last in the story, we expect more stories from the artist.
Katie O'Neill does it again! The Tea Dragon Tapestry is the latest in her Tea Dragon series, and it's just as wonderful and heartwarming as the other two. In this one, we see Greta continuing her blacksmithing aspirations and Minette still trying to find her place in life. Greta is caring for Ginseng, the tea dragon who's mourning their previous owner, which triggers a discussion about how to support a loved one in mourning. Plus, we get to see Rinn and Aedhan from Festival again! (Rinn's gotten so big!) As soon as I started reading, the colors and O'Neill's incredible artistry immediately made me feel warm and fuzzy. Every panel in this story strikes true, and O"Neill's careful worldbuilding feels so effortless, the world so vast. It was so exciting to see all these characters progress in their lives, and to feel their passion for everything they do coming through the page. It makes you want to pick up a backpack and start travelling. O'Neill's emphasis on emotional empathy and having queer characters presented as completely normal always makes me so happy and hopeful. There is a gentle power to O'Neill's Tea Dragon Tapestry, with emotional lessons that will resonate with every reader, regardless of age.
This was a really good conclusion to the Tea Dragon series. I absolutely loved seeing all of the stories through to the end at least of this era. The art as usual was absolutely phenomenal. I can't wait to read this again with my son. I will say that I wish we had seen more of Ginseng and Greta's relationship blooming. I just love these books so much! and I can't wait for this one to come out!
If you haven't read the other tea dragon series, you could probably get away without reading them, and dive into this one head-on, but then you would be missing so much, since this is the third in the series.
And although this series is about dragons who grow herbs on their head, it is really about the society that takes care of them, since they have become domesticated, and all that entails.
The author does not stop to explain anything, leaving explanations for the ends of the books, where he goes into the history of the tea dragons, and how the first one was discovered. It is almost as though we have two different stories going on, or a bonus story in prose, as opposed to drawings.
This one deals with loss and change. Two good themes if ever there was one.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.