Tea Dragon Society

• Utgivningsdatum: 2017-11-01
• Mått: 221 x 302 x 15 mm
• Vikt: 590 g
• Format: Inbunden
• Språk: Engelska
• Serie: Tea Dragon
• Antal sidor: 72
• Förlag: Oni Press,US
• Illustratör: K. O'Neill
• ISBN: 9781620104415
• Utmärkelser: School Library Journal's Top 10 Graphic Novels (2017)

• Fantasy
• Tecknade serier och romaner

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.

<div>SHELF-AWARENESS -- Once upon a time, blacksmiths were as important asmagicians. They made tools for healers to cure the sick. Swords for adventurersto battle monsters. Shoes to shod the hooves of working animals. The world wasforged in iron, once upon a time. Broad shouldered, horned and boasting manygold piercings, Greta's half-goblin mother is a blacksmith who knows theimportance of passing on a trade. As her mother's apprentice, Greta shares herreverence for blacksmithing, but she also has the same gentle and sensitivenature as her bespectacled, merchant father. On her way home from a day workingin her mother's shop, Greta finds two large, scary-looking dogs cornering atiny, terrified animal. Realizing quickly that the only danger is in how hungrythe 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 tostarve.") and then scoops up the frightened little creature. At home, she gets acloser look at the animal. Seafoam green in color, it looks to be some sort ofbaby dragon... with leaves growing out of its horns. Greta's scholarly fatherknows exactly what the animal is and who it belongs to. He sends her off toreturn it. A "little way out of town," Hesekiel runs a tea shop. Tall, slim andvaguely reminiscent of a sophisticated donkey, he is a Sylph who lives with hishuman partner, Erik. Hesekiel is delighted to have Greta reunite him withJasmine and takes special notice of Greta's kind care of the creature andJasmine's affinity for the human. Tea Dragons are mercurial, domesticatedanimals--one moment sweet and cuddly, the next angry and biting--who areparticularly distrusting of strangers due to a long history of being targeted bythieves. A Tea Dragon spends its entire life with its owner, nosily picking upmatters in the human's life, big or small, and hoarding them. The leaves thatgrow around their horns can be harvested and turned into highly desired tea, butraising a Tea Dragon (and its leaves) to maturity is a difficult and timelytask. Of the many members who used to be part of a worldwide Tea Dragonappreciation and caregiving group called the Tea Dragon Society, Hesekiel andErik are now the only two left. Like Greta's mother's blacksmithing, as the paceof life quickens, fewer and fewer people specialize in the more time-consumingtrades. In addition to several Tea Dragons, there is also an accidentalapprentice in the home of Hesekiel and Erik: a primarily mute young goblin namedMinette who has lost her memory. The only long-term memory she has is of beinggifted with "future sight" and thus training to become a prophetess; shecontinues to have difficulty forming new memories. Because of this, she isnervous and embarrassed around people, preferring the company of the devoted(though labor-intensive) dragons. Greta's interest in and commitment to thedragons (and to Minette, Hesekiel and Erik) pulls her into the cozy, slow-pacedworld of the Tea Dragon trade. In time, Minette opens up and grows to befriendGreta and the two young girls and the older male couple form a brand-new TeaDragon Society. After a few seasons of working with the Society, Hesekiel offersGreta the chance to try some of the tea. Tea Dragons tea has a special propertythat gives the drinker a sensory experience depicting much of the dragon'sowner's life (all those tidbits the nosy dragon hoarded over the years). Shownthrough the use of wavy lines and rounded, atypically shaped panels, Greta's teaexperience 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 awheelchair. The pace of Katie O'Neill's (Princess Princess Ever After) world isreflected by the design of the graphic novel: all of the colors are gentle andfully saturated, the story development leisurely yet full of life. There are noenormous cliffhangers or heartrending love affairs, but every character, eventhe dragons, is such a fully realized individual that the reader wants to knowmore. The page's natural white space acts as the borders for each panelillustration, allowing for individual panels to spread out organically--manypanels are rectangular, while some have undulating edges, some overlap otherillustrations 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 movefrom season to season, beginning and ending with spring. Greta's story is softand sweet, a journey of growing love and friendships. And for readers who wantmore, "Extracts from the Tea Dragons Handbook" can be found in the back,explaining more about the creatures with illustrations of dragons (such asHibiscus) not seen in the graphic novel. --Siân Gaetano<br><br><br></div>

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