K. O'Neill is an Eisner and Harvey Award-winning illustrator and graphic novelist from New Zealand. They are the author of Princess Princess Ever After, Aquicorn Cove, The Tea Dragon series and Dewdrop, all from Oni Press. Their books reflect their interest in tea, creatures, things that grow, and the magic of everyday life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY -- Old crafts are falling by the wayside in the
enchanting fantasy world of O'Neill's second graphic novel,
following Princess Princess Ever After. Part goblin, part human,
Greta, a girl with brown skin and squat horns, is learning her
mother's trade of blacksmithing, even though swords aren't used for
much anymore. After rescuing a tiny tea dragon that has gotten lost
at the market, Greta starts learning how to care for these
creatures, whose horns sprout leaves that are harvested for tea.
O'Neill sets her story over four chapters, one for each season,
gradually expanding Greta's world and her understanding of it.
Colored in a palette of warm greens, pinks, oranges, and blues, her
delicately drawn panels hum with a subtle romantic energy,
particularly when Greta learns the backstory between the two
remaining members of the Tea Dragon Society, a goatlike creature
named Hesekiel and his strapping, wheelchair-using partner, Erik.
(There's also a whiff of burgeoning romance between Greta and
Minette, a girl with unreliable memories who is also learning to
care for the dragons.) A quiet, charming story of nurturing
friendships and traditions.
SHELF-AWARENESS -- Once upon a time, blacksmiths were as important
as magicians. They made tools for healers to cure the sick. Swords
for adventurers to battle monsters. Shoes to shod the hooves of
working animals. The world was forged in iron, once upon a time.
Broad shouldered, horned and boasting many gold piercings, Greta's
half-goblin mother is a blacksmith who knows the importance of
passing on a trade. As her mother's apprentice, Greta shares her
reverence for blacksmithing, but she also has the same gentle and
sensitive nature as her bespectacled, merchant father. On her way
home from a day working in her mother's shop, Greta finds two
large, scary-looking dogs cornering a tiny, terrified animal.
Realizing quickly that the only danger is in how hungry the poor
dogs are, Greta gives them the meat she was bringing home for
dinner ("Mama's gonna be mad about the meat, but that's ok. Nobody
deserves to starve.") and then scoops up the frightened little
creature. At home, she gets a closer look at the animal. Seafoam
green in color, it looks to be some sort of baby dragon... with
leaves growing out of its horns. Greta's scholarly father knows
exactly what the animal is and who it belongs to. He sends her off
to return it. A "little way out of town," Hesekiel runs a tea shop.
Tall, slim and vaguely reminiscent of a sophisticated donkey, he is
a Sylph who lives with his human partner, Erik. Hesekiel is
delighted to have Greta reunite him with Jasmine and takes special
notice of Greta's kind care of the creature and Jasmine's affinity
for the human. Tea Dragons are mercurial, domesticated animals--one
moment sweet and cuddly, the next angry and biting--who are
particularly distrusting of strangers due to a long history of
being targeted by thieves. A Tea Dragon spends its entire life with
its owner, nosily picking up matters in the human's life, big or
small, and hoarding them. The leaves that grow around their horns
can be harvested and turned into highly desired tea, but raising a
Tea Dragon (and its leaves) to maturity is a difficult and timely
task. Of the many members who used to be part of a worldwide Tea
Dragon appreciation and caregiving group called the Tea Dragon
Society, Hesekiel and Erik are now the only two left. Like Greta's
mother's blacksmithing, as the pace of life quickens, fewer and
fewer people specialize in the more time-consuming trades. In
addition to several Tea Dragons, there is also an accidental
apprentice in the home of Hesekiel and Erik: a primarily mute young
goblin named Minette who has lost her memory. The only long-term
memory she has is of being gifted with "future sight" and thus
training to become a prophetess; she continues to have difficulty
forming new memories. Because of this, she is nervous and
embarrassed around people, preferring the company of the devoted
(though labor-intensive) dragons. Greta's interest in and
commitment to the dragons (and to Minette, Hesekiel and Erik) pulls
her into the cozy, slow-paced world of the Tea Dragon trade. In
time, Minette opens up and grows to befriend Greta and the two
young girls and the older male couple form a brand-new Tea Dragon
Society. After a few seasons of working with the Society, Hesekiel
offers Greta the chance to try some of the tea. Tea Dragons tea has
a special property that gives the drinker a sensory experience
depicting much of the dragon's owner's life (all those tidbits the
nosy dragon hoarded over the years). Shown through the use of wavy
lines and rounded, atypically shaped panels, Greta's tea experience
shows her the story of Hesekiel and Erik meeting and falling in
love. She also learns through Jasmine's tea leaf recollections why
Erik is in a wheelchair. The pace of Katie O'Neill's (Princess
Princess Ever After) world is reflected by the design of the
graphic novel: all of the colors are gentle and fully saturated,
the story development leisurely yet full of life. There are no
enormous cliffhangers or heartrending love affairs, but every
character, even the dragons, is such a fully realized individual
that the reader wants to know more. The page's natural white space
acts as the borders for each panel illustration, allowing for
individual panels to spread out organically--many panels are
rectangular, while some have undulating edges, some overlap other
illustrations and some are not panels at all but simply a figure on
white space. The magic of the world is in the forefront as the
novel and color palette move from season to season, beginning and
ending with spring. Greta's story is soft and sweet, a journey of
growing love and friendships. And for readers who want more,
"Extracts from the Tea Dragons Handbook" can be found in the back,
explaining more about the creatures with illustrations of dragons
(such as Hibiscus) not seen in the graphic novel. --Siân
Gaetano
KIRKUS -- In this tale based on the imaginative webcomic, a young
blacksmith finds herself welcomed into a society that cares for
tea-leaf-producing minidragons.With perky black pigtails, pink
horns, and brown skin, Greta is training to be a blacksmith like
her mother (who has large pink horns, brown skin, a nose ring, and
impressive musculature). In their world, blacksmithing is dwindling
in importance, although Greta's mom strives to preserve the art.
One day, Greta happens across a darling, small green dragon. She
learns the dragon belongs to a dignified-looking bespectacled
llamalike creature named Hesekiel. Hesekiel, his wheelchair-using
partner, Erik, and the enigmatic, hooved-and-antlered,
cotton-candy-tressed Minette make up what is left of the Tea Dragon
Society, a group that forms close bonds with the dragons and
harvests the tea leaves the creatures grow. The relationship
between dragon and owner, much like tea harvesting, is one that
requires patience and an appreciation for craftsmanship; that
general feeling is apparent as O'Neill's gentle offering languidly
unfurls without much dramatic tension. As she did in Princess
Princess Ever After (2016), O'Neill has composed a feel-good tale
just right for middle-grade fantasy fans. In alluringly hued,
manga-inspired illustrations, O'Neill's diverse characters distray
an array of different skin colors, orientations, and abilities.
Helping to add depth to the worldbuilding is an excerpt from a
fictional tome that explains the history of tea dragons and their
individual characteristics.Undeniably whimsical and extremely cute.
(Graphic fantasy. 7-11)
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL -- Gr 4 Up-Greta is a young blacksmith
apprentice who wonders whether her mother's craft is still relevant
in contemporary society. When she rescues a little lost dragon in
the marketplace and returns it to its owners, Greta learns about
another fading art form-the care of tea dragons, small creatures
who grow tea leaves out of their horns and antlers. She becomes
fascinated with the enchanting dragons and their caretakers, and
begins to appreciate how traditional crafts can create their own
kind of magic by enriching lives, including hers. This book is
wonderfully inclusive, and depicts a distinct and expressive cast
of LGBTQIA characters and people of color. The title is reminiscent
of a younger, more innocent version of Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona
Staples's "Saga," with many of the main characters possessing horns
and antlers. The artwork is soft and fluid, with lots of rounded
edges and complementary tones. The backgrounds are an integral and
memorable part of the story-some details are so lush that they give
the appearance of tapestries. VERDICT This warm and funny story
would be a wonderful addition to most graphic novel collections. It
quietly illustrates and normalizes a variety of family situations
and personal identities.-Kelley Gile, Cheshire Public Library,
CT
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