This was, yet again, another adorable graphic novel from Katie O’Neill! I did not enjoy this one quite as much as the first, but it was still meaningful and beautiful as all O’Neill’s books seem to be. Her books just seem to always bring joy through her words as well as her illustrations.

I absolutely love the usage of sign language in this graphic novel as well. The tea dragons are adorable and the introduction of a new character/dragon was great. This prequel is set before the events of the Tea Dragon Society book and both books are worth checking out!!

Thank you so much to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this!

Thank you for the free ARC, Netgalley!

My history with Katie O'Neill began with her first book, <i>The Tea Dragon Society</i>, which I absolutely fell head over heels for. I then read <i>Aquicorn Cove</i> when it came out which, while adorable, didn't quite match the greatness of <i>The Tea Dragon Society</i>. Fast forward to now- The Tea Dragon Festival has just become an instant favorite!

There are so many reason to love these books. First of all, let's talk about that art! So soft, and wonderful, and full of cute dragons and lovely plants and landscapes. I could seriously get lost in this art all day long.

Secondly, the characters are top notch. Unique, lovable, gender encompassing characters, plus anthropomorphic animals and tea dragons. There is even wonderful deaf representation and sign language in this one, which brings me to my third point...

O'Neill is always sliding in some good lessons in here. Lessons on how to treat others, how to deal with emotions and goals, how to care for the planet as well as friends and families. This is the kind of book you can fill your heart with. I hope you are as lucky as I was, to have read this on a quiet, rainy afternoon sipping a cup of tea. I couldn't recommend it more!

( Real Rating: 4.5 stars )

Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for letting me read an advanced copy of this book!

My friend has a saying that goes like “dessert isn’t for your stomach; it’s for your heart” and I feel like, if you were to replace “dessert” with this book, and “stomach” with head, this would 100% apply for The Tea Dragon Festival.

The main thing with this book is that it’s soothing. It’s not complex, and it won’t make your brain work at a hundred miles an hour to figure out what’s going on. This is meant to be beautiful and soothing and nice, and it shows in the most wonderful of ways.

The colours in this graphic novel are, to put it simply, to die for. They’re soft yet vibrant, and you want nothing more than to just lose yourself in them. And that’s without saying just how gorgeous the illustrations are, in and of themselves.

Truly, I doubt I’ll ever find a book or series cuter than the Tea Dragon series. It’s so… Wonderful. I feel like I’m floating when I’m reading it, and find myself smiling without even realizing it.

This book in particular made me really emotional because the main character is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. As a non-binary person who uses they/them pronouns in English, that made my heart swell to at least three times its normal size. I felt like crying when I first realized it, but those tears would have been happy and far from sad. And the use of they/them pronouns is just one small bit of the diversity in this novel. Just in this book, there’s what appears to be a male/male (I think, though I don’t think their genders were ever specified) couple, people of colour, sign language use, and probably a ton of other things I didn’t even notice due to how natural they felt in the story.

I know this book is for all ages, but reading it has made me want to have a kid really, really bad so that I can get them to read this series too. It’s so beautiful, soft, soothing, diverse and entertaining, that I don’t see how this could be a less than the absolute perfect gift for a child. It’s already a great gift for an adult, but children deserve to have the chance to read this wonderful series too, and so I know for a fact that I’ll be giving these books to my cousin’s children for Christmas. They’re unfortunately the only children I know, but I do think they’ll love it. Or at the very least, their parents will love reading it to them.

All in all, this book made so so so so soft. It’s the most soothing thing I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, and I simply cannot recommend it enough.

I absolutely adored Katie O'Neill's "The Tea Dragon society" when I read it earlier this year, so I was thrilled for the chance to read her latest addition to the series. Picking up "The Tea Dragon Festival" was like returning home to one of my favorite fantasy worlds of all time. As a long-time lover of dragons, I'm obsessed with O'Neill's warm yet gentle take on them. She has created a beautifully illustrated series filled with a charming and diverse cast of characters that has quickly made its way into my all-time favorites.

This was an adorable prequel to the Tea Dragon Society. Im so happy we got to see one of the tea master Hese and his partner Eriks bounty hunting adventures. We also follow Eriks niece Rinn and the dragon she discovers sleeping in the woods while foraging for her village. I loved the sweet relationship that develops between them. The story has this wonderful message about finding ones passion and where they belongs. I really appreciated the sign language representation and how the entire village learned it when one of their girls was born without hearing. The talk about the shapeshifting dragon clan being able to change gender made me very happy. I absolutely love the art style and with the festival going on we got some mezmerizing scenes. This is probably aimed at a much younger audience as it doesnt have much writing, but I still adored it. Its just an overall super heartwarming story that anyone can enjoy.

I really enjoyed this. I think that the art and the stories are so cute. I read and loved the first Tea Dragon book and even bought the card game. This sequel did not let me down! I think that the sign language is cute. And I did notice that this book was a little more grown up. All in all I thought it was great and will definitely be getting the paper version for my shelf!

NetGalley provided me with an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for my review. All thoughts are my own.

THE TEA DRAGON FESTIVAL by Katie O'Neill is just as adorable as the first volume. This beautiful world of tea dragons is radiant and alluring. The colors and vibrant and full with life. This graphic novel is one of my all-time favorites now, just like THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY. I totally want to see more from this world. Imagine this in an animated adaptation? Sign me up.

Just as delightful as The Tea Dragon Society, The Tea Dragon Festival is a lovely prequel! I'm not sure I've ever seen American Sign Language used in a graphic novel before, which in retrospect is kind of crazy since comics are such a visual medium; it's one thing for a novel to tell you that a person is using sign language, but a completely different thing for it to actually be shown. The fact that O'Neill always includes LGBTQIA+ and POC characters is also amazing, let alone that some of her characters are both. I can not suggest this book enough!

This was a very cute read. The artwork and the colors are pleasing to the eyes and the bubbles are easy to follow. I love that there is helpful notes for the reader and a "who is who" page at the beginning, but also an extract from Alpine Tea Dragon Handbook and more info about tea dragons & dragons at the end.

It's a very inclusive illustrated book, you won't be disappointed! And it's super easy to read and connect with the lovely characters. The little tea dragons were so freaking adorable!

I just wish it was longer!

Gorgeous illustrations and a sweet, funny story - a great follow -up to the Tea Dragon Society. Loved it,

I got an ARC of this book.

I live and breathe tea dragons. They are by far one of the best things I have ever seen and I want more. I want a world where tea dragons are a real thing. That being said, this book was the prequel to the book that introduced me to tea dragons. It was perfection.

Not only were there tea dragons, but there were people of color, sign language, and gay people. It is wonderful to just see diversity happening in a way that seems natural. It didn't feel like the gay characters were thrown in for flavor and their gayness just was. Their gayness wasn't a plot point or ever really discussed. I just knew that it was there and that was enough. They were more than just gay, they were people and adventurers. It was perfect

The art is gorgeous. I would like O'Neil to continue creating forever. The colors, the images, they worked so well together with the story. They were just done wonderfully. I wanted to look into this world and never stop. 

Highly recommend for people that like tea, people who like cute things, and people who are looking for wholesome things. I even found out there is a card game (I will be getting this game soon. I can't imagine a cuter game to bring to the all ages game night I go to)! This universe is everything I have ever looked for in a graphic novel and in books for younger readers.

There was so much to love with this! The artwork is stunning, I just found myself admiring it before I remembered I was supposed to be reading. It's the type of artwork I want on my wall. The sheer cuteness of pretty much every character (adult and child) and the dragons oh the dragons, I really wish Tea Dragons were real, I want them all and I don't even like tea. I got a sense for the characters really quickly which isn't always the case with a graphic novel due to how short they are. This book is a great way to show kids themes such as acceptance of everyone no matter their race, gender identity or disabilities as well as acceptance of yourself and your talents. I can't recommend this enough. I will be checking out the authors other works as soon as possible.

This was so adorable! I've liked everything that I've read by Katie O'Neill so far, but I think this title in particular benefited from being a little bit longer than her previous works. Her stories are always fun and magical, but usually I feel like they are a little bit too rushed for me personally, but this one really had the space to paint an incredibly vivid picture. There are a few characters from the previous Tea Dragon story as well as some fun new faces [including non-binary and deaf representation!]. The Tea Dragons are adorable as always, and the introduction of full size dragons was interesting as well. Overall just a really cute story, definitely a good read if you want something bright and fun that will make you feel good after you've read it!

When aspiring cook Rinn stumbles across a young, sleeping dragon while foraging in the forest, she is surprised to learn that the dragon--Aedham--has been asleep for eighty years. She brings him back to her small mountain village, where Aedham quickly makes friends with the other villagers as they prepare for the Tea Dragon Festival.

"The Tea Dragon Festival" is a beautifully illustrated slice-of-life fantasy story set in the same world as O'Neill's first graphic novel, "The Tea Dragon Society". This book has made me want a Tea Dragon of my own even more than I already did!

I only have one word for this boko.
REPRESENTATION.
I love Katie O'Neill and her art, and I adored the Tea Dragon Society, so when I heard there was a companion, I about died.
This story was lovely, pure, and beautiful.
But I cannot get over the representation. It was so inclusive! It makes me so happy just thinking about it, and I will absolutely be giving this book to many people.

Just as magical, gentle, diverse and charming as The Tea Dragon Society, The Tea Dragon Festival is a graphic novel that feels like a warm hug.

This is a beautifully illustrated story about community, new opportunities and finding your purpose.

The story is actually a prequel to The Tea Dragon Society, with a different cast of characters (except for an awesome couple) and a different (but just as beautiful) story. You don’t need to read Society to read Festival, but please do, because they’re both wonderful.

This is the book that I want to read the days that I’m feeling down or grumpy. It’s full of love and peace and warmth. It’s exactly how I wish our world would look and feel every single day.

Perfect for kids and adults. I can’t recommend it enough.

5/5 stars

*Review posted to Goodreads and will be up on my Instagram page @books_and_libros by release date.

I have so much love for the first book, that the moment I saw this one out in the world I knew I had to get my hands on it. But, sadly I hadn't been able to. That is, until NetGalley approved my request and the rest is Tea Dragon love!

There was definite excitement over being approved for this cutesy, artsy, read. Especially going back to the first Tea Dragon Society book, which this had and tons more. The colors, the art, the new tea dragons, and a special different kind of dragon named Aedhan (which I adored!).

Then there was Hesekiel and Erik, from the first novel, and in this one they were even more interactive. I found myself becoming more connected with them as I read more, but still wishing for more of their past stories. Which, I'm hoping there is more talks of in the next volume.

I will say though, I didn't see as many tea dragons as I would have liked, making this a little bit sad because that's what this is all about. But, I am somewhat forgiving as there was a lot of Aedhan, along with our other main character Rinn. Their story in this was definitely a plus.

Those two, and the festivities, made it so much more magical and even more forgiving. As there was some of that tea I was looking for, along with a very sentimental and teary-eyed memory recap. The food search, the making of the dishes by the community, and those beautiful memories given were the pinnacle moment in this novel.

There was tons to love in this second volume, including the addition of sign language. Yup, there is so much in here. And yet, like mentioned above, I wanted more of those little cute tea dragons, more of Hesekiel and Erik, and more of the history behind it all. I'll just have to wait for the next volume to come out and have more adventures with all of them.

***I received this copy from Oni Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.***

Katie O'Niell is unparalleled in story telling and illustrations. Her beautiful artwork is accompanied by an even more beautiful storyline. Just as in her past Tea Dragon Society graphic novel, Katie O'Niell does an amazing job of showing diversity. I especially enjoyed the American Sign Language component in this storyline, as well as the representation of the characters. The illustrations are beyond gorgeous and expressive. I'll never stop singing Katie O'Niell's praises!

This was honestly such a fun and cute book. I'm very happy that I stumbled across O'Neills work, because so far everything has just been so hearfelt. Her artwork is beautiful and so are her stories. I honestly love the world that she has created and with every new book, I find myself wishing more and more that I could go within it.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Oni Press in exchange for an honest review.

Oh boy, this just about melted my heart and I am so so happy I read this. The Tea Dragon Society is an absolutely lovely graphic novel/webcomic that you can read entirely online for free (you can also buy a bindup). It tells the story of a young girl who is learning to be a blacksmith when she stumbles upon another potential profession-caring for these small creatures called tea dragons. The Tea Dragon Festival is the followup to that story, though it is not a sequel and you don't need to read the first one for this to make sense. Instead it is merely set in the same world and features some of the same characters.

In this story we follow Rinn, a nonbinary person who loves foraging ingredients and supplies for their town. This village communally cares for a group of tea dragons who are the adorable titular creatures. One day Rinn comes across a real dragon called Aedhan who has been asleep for 80 years. With Rinn's help, Aedhan must now assimilate back into village life and find the creature who caused him to sleep for so long.

I'm not sure how many times it is appropriate to use the word 'adorable' in one review but it perfectly encapsulates this whole graphic novel experience. The art style is absolutely gorgeous, the characters are likeable and the story is compelling. After reading this I was just filled with so much joy and love for the world the artist had created. I could read a thousand stories in this world and never be bored. It is the ultimate feel good experience.

The representation in this is also topnotch and it makes me so happy to see so many concepts in a children's work. I think people of all ages could enjoy this graphic novel but it is definitely kid-friendly as well and I love how effortlessly the artist incorporates diversity. This is how it should be done!

There's not much to be said about this apart from I loved it and I want as many people as possible to experience the joy this work brought me. If you're looking for a cute graphic novel, this is the perfect example. If you like dragons, tea, fantasy worlds, slice of life stories featuring a ton of diversity, romances that aren't overt or take over the plot, compelling characters or beautiful artwork, then please please read this. You will not be disappointed.

Overall Rating: 5/5