Aug 24, 20204 min
Hi bookish friends!
I somehow only recently discovered Katie O’Neill’s world of Tea Dragons, which is surprising given that the concept involves two of my favourite things: 1) tea and 2) dragons!
Now that I’ve read all three books, I wanted to let you know how much I love them. All three were 5 star reads for me. They are all lighthearted, positive stories with diverse representation and gorgeous artwork. Reading them is a cosy and relaxing experience which always left me smiling (and occasionally crying a little bit, but they were happy tears, I promise!)
A quick note on reading order: I read these books in publication order (Society, Festival, Tapestry) and will discuss them here in that order, but it would also be possible to read them in chronological order (Festival, Society, Tapestry). You should definitely read the other two books before reading Tapestry to be able to fully appreciate it, though!
Series author: Katie O’Neill (website)
Publisher: Oni Press (website)
Genre: Fantasy; Graphic Novel
Audience: Children’s/Middle Grade
Length: The webcomic is 46 pages, with separate sections on the website for information about the main characters and tea dragons. The physical copy is 72 pages.
Length: 136 pages
Length: 136 pages
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The series starts with The Tea Dragon Society. The main character Greta is a young part-goblin girl apprenticing as a blacksmith under her mother. Greta rescues a Jasmine tea dragon she finds lost in the street; returning Jasmine to her owners at the teahouse gives Greta the opportunity to learn all about the art and traditions of caring for tea dragons. The teahouse is home to three people as well as their respective tea dragons: Hesekiel, the kind Sylke tea merchant who longs to make sure his knowledge is passed on; Hesekiel’s partner Erik, who maintains the teahouse and grows vegetables in his garden (he also happens to use a wheelchair); and Minette, a young girl around Greta’s age who was taken in by Hesekiel and Erik after developing amnesia. The book shows how Greta’s relationships with them, as well as her skills, grow over the course of a year.
The second book in the series is The Tea Dragon Festival. I own a physical copy of this one and it’s even more gorgeous than I had imagined! Festival is set in a small mountain village a few decades before Society. The main character is Rinn, Erik’s nibling. Rinn is nonbinary and dreams of being a cook; for now, they help by gathering mushrooms and roots for their neighbours. Rinn is out foraging when they come across a dragon called Aedhan, who has accidentally been asleep for 80 years; Rinn helps him to settle into life in the village, while Erik and Hesekiel (who are visiting Erik’s family at the time) help to track down the mystery behind Aedhan’s enchanted sleep. This story is set before Erik begins using a wheelchair, but it still has disability rep. The head cook of the village, Lesa, is deaf; everybody in the village uses sign language so that they can communicate with her, which was so refreshing to see! At the start of my copy it says that the characters are using American Sign Language (ASL); however, my friend’s copy says that it is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). Since the author is from New Zealand I presume the signs in this book were based on her local sign language, but since the only signs I know are BSL I can’t say for sure! There are resources for both NZSL and ASL at the end of the book.
Given how much I love this series, I am so grateful to Oni Press for sending me an eARC of The Tea Dragon Tapestry through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I think this is actually my favourite of the three books in the series! In Tapestry we return to Greta, Minette, Hesekiel, and Erik a year after the end of Society. Greta has been trying her best to help her very own tea dragon, Ginseng, through the grief and depression she has been experiencing since her previous owner passed away. Greta has also been focusing on her blacksmithing, and has the opportunity to be the apprentice of a famous master blacksmith… If she can create one object that impresses him enough. Meanwhile, Minette has received a package from the monastery she used to live in, and it makes her question her place in the world. Our friends at the teahouse are visited by some familiar faces from Festival, too! It was Tapestry‘s focus on supporting loved ones through mental health difficulties, and the ways in which the characters develop over the course of this final book, which made me love it even more than the previous stories. It also goes without saying that the illustrations have continued to be beautiful; I would happily hang so many of them on my walls!
I’m definitely intending to preorder a hardback copy of The Tea Dragon Tapestry as soon as I get this month’s paycheck. It’s being released on September 15th! I’m also planning to buy a hardback copy of Society to complete my set, because if there was ever a series worth collecting physical copies of it’s this one. I may also have to get the card game. And the plushies. Is it obvious how much I love these books yet?
If you’ve read any of the Tea Dragons books, I’d love to know if you have a favourite character, tea dragons included!
Whether you’ve read these books or not – do you have a favourite tea? I have a whole cupboard full! I’m about to brew a cup of my favourite organic rooibos blend, Crimson Twilight from Rosevear tea.
Happy reading & tea drinking,
Maisie Rose x
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