Review by Ian Keogh
Rather than a collection, Katie O’Neill has opted for an elegantly designed slipcase containing all three previously published Tea Dragon books for young readers. It’s a fitting choice for books designed with love and care, echoing timeless children’s classics.
Opening volume, The Tea Dragon Society introduced a world near enough to ours to be familiar, but with fantasy and magic replacing technology. Main character Greta is seen experiencing all four seasons of a year. She’s kind, generous and considerate as befits a deliberately gentle and non-threatening environment, and the sample art shows her meeting the mysterious Minette who introduces her to the ways of tea dragons. They’re rare and treasured for the tea that can be made by drying the leaves that grow on twigs emerging from their heads.
Much thought has been given to the peripheries of telling a story via comics, and O’Neill’s effective style avoids black outlines for both characters and panels. Blocks of colour blending into each other create an appealing distinctive look far less common when the material was first published in 2017, while the lettering is also distinctive. That’s a rare case of lower case not seeming out of place, possibly because O’Neill’s dialogue balloons are also coloured, and creative and individual use of colour is a continuing progression. Distinctively designed characters are close enough to human to remain comforting, but an assortment of cuddly small dragons feature, all with their own back story.
Greta and Minette are reduced to supporting characters as Rinn takes centre stage for The Tea Dragon Festival, discovering what seems a new form of dragon. Notable here is O’Neill resolute in sticking to principles of non-violence, although a brief battle occurs. She builds toward a scene where conflict is seemingly inevitable and then adroitly avoids it. Rinn and her adventures are as captivating as the previous book, and the interesting use of sign language notable.
Unusually, rather than telling stories of a world set in stasis, O’Neill progresses time, so The Tea Dragon Tapestry occurs a few years later than the previous volumes, perhaps an acknowledgement of her readership having aged between books. While Greta still features, the focus switches to Minette, now working and sent a tapestry from home that she started, but never completed. O’Neill continues to build her mythology, but in acknowledgement of passing time she moves away from an idyllic world to introduce themes of sorrow and distress, consequently raising the age level from all-ages. It’s a more introspective story than the simple joy of the discovery previously followed, yet equally captivating.
The step into more spiritual and contemplative areas for the third book means what would otherwise be suitable for all ages requires a little parental guidance, but the Tea Dragon Society books captivate and enthral. If you’re going to investigate, why not head straight for this attractive package.
