The Tea Dragon Society

 

Rating: 4 for kawaii illustrations that pushes into YA with a gentle queer feel that is refreshing.

My Thoughts:

On the surface, this is a gentle and whimsical story about slow crafting, animal husbandry, gardening and meeting craftspeople. The illustrations feel like if the Welsh designer Laura Ashley suddenly decided to become a chibi-style manga illustrator. The book is divided into seasons, which seems very British, like going into the Secret Garden. I think it just signifies that this relationship is a long, slow reveal.

The cutest part of this is that the tea dragons grow tea leaves on their horns and it is part of their magical gift. Each dragon is named after a familiar tea like Jasmine and Roiboos. It feels like the tea comes from love, patience and the tight relationship between the little dragons and their life partners/caretakers. 

Reading this on a day when there is a cold  front of rain and thunder in Hawaiʻi just means that I am making a large pot of hojicha as I read this book. 

I think this would work for elementary, but I also think that this uses the fantastical elements to also normalize LGBTQIA+ characters so although this looks like an elementary book, I would also put it in a middle school classroom. Someone that needs to find it for the tea element, for the fantasy element, for the ability to honor what comes with slow growth and patience element will come across this and love it. 

From the Publisher:

From the award-winning author of Princess Princess Ever After comes THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY, the beloved and charming all-ages book that follows the story of Greta, a blacksmith apprentice, and the people she meets as she becomes entwined in the enchanting world of tea dragons. After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends them and their shy ward, Minette, Greta sees how the craft enriches their lives—and eventually her own.

• Winner of the 2018 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Kids
• Winner of the 2018 Eisner Award for Best Webcomic
• ALA Rainbow List (2018)
• 2018 Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids Comics Winner
• Amazon.com's Best Comics & Graphic Novels (2017)
• School Library Journal's Top 10 Graphic Novels (2017)

Publication Information:

Author/Ilustrator: K. OʻNeill
Publisher: Oni Press (October 31, 2017); Random House Graphic (June 2, 2026)**

Print length: 72 pages

Grade level suggestion: 2-8

I received a digital ARC from NetGalley and Random House Children's Books, which by practice means that I normally wait until the publication date is a month out before I publish, however this is a republished book so I am publishing this post immediately. After all, this is a 2017 and 2018 book winner, including several Eisner Award wins in 2018. Congratulations to the author/illustrator.