Sorry, I wasn't able to download the reading copy before the archive date, hence, I could not give a proper review of this book.

"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."

I have adored Katie O'Neill graphics novel in the past and The Tea Dragon Festival was no different. It completely swept me away with the most charming illustrations in the loveliest setting. I love Katie's messages that she incorporates into the story and I appreciated how diverse it was! You also get to learn a bit of sign language within this one which was really incredible. I truly wish I could escape into this beautiful and whimsical world. Needless to say, I cannot recommend picking up The Tea Dragon Festival enough as it will most definitly warm your soul.

Katie O'Neill has once again brought to life a gentle and adorable story about Tea Dragons and the people who love them. THE TEA DRAGON FESTIVAL is a companion story/sort of prequel to THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY, and let me tell you it's just as cute as that one was. I love how O'Neill creates this rich fantasy world where Tea Dragons and Wild Dragons alike function and interact, and that she builds their mythologies in non complicated, but still compelling ways. This time our main characters are Rinn, a girl living in a mountain village who wants to become a great cook, and Aedhan, a Dragon who was supposed to guard the village, but fell under a sleeping spell that made him sleep for eighty years. Seeing Rinn try to help Aedhan reclaim his life and readjust to the world he left behind was very darling, and their relationship was so lovely and transcended platonic, romantic, and most everything else. It was it's own thing, and I really liked it. Along with that, I liked how much diversity there was in this story, from the different skin colors of characters and how there was also a deaf character. O'Neill even made sure to portray sign language in a unique way that worked on the page. And finally, we get to see some familiar faces, as Erik and Hesekiel from THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY are in their younger years when they were still roaming the countryside going on adventures. I loved seeing them, and was happy with how they felt like they fit in without taking from the rest of the story. And, of course, the Tea Dragons are still epically cute, and given that it's a different region, we got different kinds of Tea Dragons to go gaga over!

I don't want to be selfish, but I hope that Katie O'Neill keeps revisiting this world. It's still going strong and I still want to know more.

I loved this book. The characters, the sweetness of the lines, the colors, the energy, and the story. My heart is full of wonder and cuteness. The diversity alone is amazing, but everything in this didn't feel forced or anything. It felt so warm and cute and breathtaking.
I loved how much this made me want to try the food and the tea, and have a little dragon with me. If I cannot have one, at least I want a rescue pet with me FOREVER.
I will buy this as soon as it comes out! I will publish the review online close to the release date, so I will edit this with the link in a few weeks.

A cute graphic novel about a village guardian dragon who wakes after sleeping for decades, and about the girl who finds him discovering what her contribution to the village is. I was able to follow the story, but it felt a little scattered. My students will not have the issues that I did with reading it. They will like the tea dragons and the guardian dragon. I do like that the reader gets to see the relationships develop and deepen between the characters.

CUTENESS OVERLOAD!!! I loved it! The art is so so well done, the characters are adorable and I LOVE the fact that sign language was included!

This can either be read part of the Tea Dragon series or can be read as a standalone (which I did because I have yet to read The Tea Dragon Society).

A perfect graphic novel for all ages, Katie O'Neil amazes the universe with her world of tea dragons. 10/10 would recommend!

Katie O'Neill’s The Tea Dragon Festival is a charming fantasy filled with dragons, tea dragons, friendship, and community. This gentle book features pretty artwork, lovely characters, and excellent representation for several groups. I love this book but I wish the storyline had a little more depth.

Rinn is a young aspiring cook living in the mountain. They are skilled in finding the best herbs and vegetables in the forest. Rinn has grown up with the adorable Tea Dragons that live in their village but they have never encountered a real dragon before. One day in the forest, Rinn stumbles upon Aedhan, a young dragon who was appointed to protect the village eighty years ago. However, Aedhan fell into an enchanted sleep. Rinn’s uncle Erik and his partner Hesekiel set out to uncover the mysterious creature causing the enchanted sleep. Meanwhile, Rinn helps Aedhan come to terms with his lost time.

This is such a unique and gentle reading experience. I love the warm sentiments of community, friendship, inclusivity, and acceptance running throughout the book.

I love the book’s simple and unhurried plot. However, I wish the subplot with Erik and Hesekiel’s search for the elusive magical creature was more developed. I want to learn more about the forest and magic.

The characters are lovely, well-written, and so diverse! I love how seamlessly O’Neill includes numerous characters of colour as well as those with disabilities and different gender identities and sexualities. I particularly like the prominent featuring of American sign language into the book.

I like the dynamics among all the characters but I love the sweet and giving friendship between Aedhan and Rinn. They both learn and grow from their interactions with each other. Aedhan’s development is well-done. I like how nicely he fits into Rinn’s family and Silverleaf village. I love generous and kind Rinn but I would have liked to see her personal journey more developed.

My favourite part of this book is the whimsical and gorgeous artwork which perfectly complements the sweet story. The panels are nicely detailed with soft and warm colours. The tea dragons are adorably designed!

The Tea Dragon Festival is a beautiful, diverse, and heart-warming read that is perfect for all ages. You will absolutely want to move into this lovely world! I can’t wait to read more of Katie O’Neill’s work!



🐉 🐉 🐉 🐉 ½ tea dragons out of 5!

This companion was everything I hoped for—the warmth and quiet I adored from The Tea Dragon Society, absolutely stunning art—and so much more. The narrative is also relatively conflict-free, so it made for a wonderful escape from the world for a little while. I'm not crying over this you are.

I lost track of how many times I audibly squealed at the cuteness in this book. I desperately need one of these cute little tea dragons in my life, preferably Mountain Chamomile's grumpy fluffself.

"You find it effortless because you love it, and that is why it is your gift."
This was such a wonderful story, the art work was both beautiful and cute. And it contains such wonderful quotes throughout the story such as the one above.
I loved the diversity, how this story helped us learn more about the world Katie O'Neill created. Dragons and Tea dragons are such beautiful creatures. I found this story to be lovely and entertaining definitely will be reading more from this author.

This graphic novel was just as adorable as the first by Katie O'Neill. I really enjoyed being able to go back to The Tea Dragon universe. This novel allowed us to see how a different village raised their dragons as a community rather than the dragons forming a bond with one person.

I definitely have to say that my favorite part of the book was seeing the friendship between Aedhan and Rinn develop. I would love to see Katie O'Neill continue that storyline and see where the ideas go with Rinn wanting to be a cook and Aedhan protecting the village.

As with the last novel, the graphics were absolutely adorable and I'd definitely love my own Marshmallow tea dragon (it's just so adorable!!). I'm going to have to check out the rest of Katie O'Neill's books to see if I love them as much as this series.

Katie O’Neill’s book is written wonderfully, and the illustrations are perfect. The Tea Dragon Festival was a fun and whimsical read that kept on giving. The format was perfect for this story as was the illustrations. Ultimately I think this book are beautifully delivered.

I thought this was a cute and fun read. While I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read the first book (as this was a companion) I still had a good time reading it. I loved the addition of sign language in the graphic novel. It was never confusing and was always easy to tell apart from the dialogue. I would recommend this if you want something light-hearted to read.

I loved this story ! The drawings are beautiful, it's sweet and soft but with a powerful message. It's the kind of story that warms the heart

Rinn, who lives in a village that co-exists with tea dragons, discovers a dragon (not a tea dragon, but a bigger dragon) asleep in a shrine while she is out gathering supplies for her peers. The dragon is happy to see her, but they come to the realization that the dragon has been sleeping for 80 years. Two traveling bounty hunters go on a search for the cause of such a long slumber, and discover another dragon or spirit wishing to share the beauty of the forest, but is mistakenly causing prolonged slumber. Rinn befriends the dragon, and helps them become acclimated to village life. The illustrations were soft and luxurious, inviting readers to pause and inspect all the scenes for their floral accompaniment and embellishments. The story leaves a bit to be desired, as there is more quiet, peaceful moments, and not much to keep the story flowing. There are short bursts of plot and conflict, but they're quickly settled and solved. This leaves open to more stories in the Tea Dragon world, and readers will be interested to read more after this title.

A queer kids book?
A love story?
Dragons?

And more disabled characters?

You've got it all with this cute little graphic novel. 5 ⭐

This is the perfect children's book, but you can get something out of it at any age. It has a sweet message of acceptance, overcoming seemingly impossible odds and letting go of what you cant change.

The art is beautiful as always but this book isn't just pretty, it also builds upon O'Neill's world in a natural way. The story progression is consistent, the character arcs are satisfying and the diverse cast means everyone can see themselves in this fantastical story. I prefer this book to The Tea Dragon Society because it felt like Katie O'Neill had enough time to transform the idea of a world into something far greater than it already was. I can't wait to see what she does next.

I want a Tea Dragon.

Preorder now to receive your copy on September 17th 2019

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Tea-Dragon-Festival/Katie-ONeill/9781620106556

I was sent this ARC via NetGalley from Oni Press in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this graphic novel! So cute and whimsical! They art and colors are beautiful. I gave it 4/5 stars.

This was super cute and just what I wanted at the time! Katie writes so simplistic, yet so rooted in deep themes that we all could relate to. I love the story in this one perticular and would recommend you check out all her stories. The art in this book is stunning! Every page is beautiful, whimsical and just utterly unique. If you need something warm, cute and wholesome, then definitely check this out!

This was such a cute, fast read!

I loved The Tea Dragon Society, so I was so excited to be able to get an early copy of The Tea Dragon Festival!

The art was beautiful and ASL is shown throughout, which is amazing! There are even resources for ASL in the back of the novel.

Another tidbit, in one scene they were painting gourds to prepare for the festival. When I was young, my Nana grew gourds and we used to paint them! It took me right back and gave me a great nostalgic feel.

Five stars for this amazing graphic novel about love, acceptance, and finding out who you are. I will definitely recommend!

The short of it: I absolutely adored this graphic novel! The artwork was beyond stunning, I could honestly drown in it. The whole concept of tea dragons and dragons was so unique! I was so impressed by the diversity included in this book as well. This was such a pure and wholesome read, and I will be posting a full review on my blog closer to the publication date. Thank you so much Oni Press and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review!