Tea Dragon #1
by Katie O’Neill
Nikki’s Rating: 10 out of 10
Summary: A beautifully illustrated fairytale about Greta, a blacksmith apprentice, and her introduction to the magical world of Tea Dragons. Featuring a wise Jasmine Tea Dragon, a playful Rooibos Tea Dragon, a sweet Chamomile Tea Dragon, and a little fire brick creature, this short graphic novel is so heartwarming!
10 Terrific Things about THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY Katie O’Neill
(May Contain Spoilers)
1. Cuteness
I cannot get over how adorbs this graphic novel is! An enchanting story, captivating characters, cute little companions, and beautiful artwork. The only complaint is that it was too short.
2. Humanoids
I loved that the characters weren’t all human, rather several of them were human in the sense of having self-awareness, executive cognitive functioning, walking upright, etc. but physically they looked like animals.
3. LGBTQ+
Whether Katie O’Neill identifies as LGBTQ+ or is simply an ally, I appreciate that she included characters that identify as such and how normalized it is in the story. 2 of the main characters, Hese and Erik, are a gay couple and while the story unfolds it seems that Greta and Minette, the other 2 main characters, may become an item in the future as well.
4. Illustration
Artwork style can really make or break my interest in a graphic novel. Happily, Katie O’Neill’s style is charming and very kawaii cute, which I love!
5. Objects
“… I want to keep making objects for people to love and give them a story…”
Love this quote as it reminds us that material things can hold sentiment and have “value” beyond just monetary value and cherishing a physical object doesn’t mean you are “materialistic”.
6. Friendships
The characters all look drastically different from each other, are of different genders, and different ages, and yet, that does not seem to matter to any of them.
7. Tea Dragons
Little pet dragons that grow magic tea leaves. I want one and I don’t even drink tea!
8. Memories
Brew magic tea leaves and you get a delicious tea that allows you to experience memories that the dragons share with their owners. Very unique and magical idea!
9. Lil Brick dude
Greta has a small fire creature named Brick that follows her around and he is so cute!
10. The Tea Dragon Festival
More Tea Dragons coming Fall 2019!
As always, thank you for reading. I would love to hear from you so feel free to contact me or comment below. If you would like to support this blog and/or my paintings please become my patron.
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