Welcome to Litsy!

On Election Night, I needed a comfort read, and so I checked this out and read it in its entirety. It‘s a beautiful exploration of grief and love and caring for the earth. Its artwork and its heart offered me hope and comfort as the depressing election news loomed in the background.

“Sometimes I feel like I just want to go to sleep for a while, and wake up when I‘m stronger or things are different somehow.”

I tried this last night. I didn‘t sleep well and things aren‘t different yet. Praying for strength and hope. 💔🇺🇸

I‘m about to make a mug of hot tea, put on the coziest, comfiest pajamas ever, and start reading what I think may be the literal definition of a unicorn chaser. Necessary self-care on this election night. 💜 #ComfortReadathon

For the first time since her mother died, Lana & her father return to her island home to rebuild after a devastating storm. Only, Lana also discovers there‘s something magical out in the reefs, & they‘re in trouble.

I expected a cozy fantasy for my 1st #ComfortReadathon . Instead I got a beautifully illustrated meditation on grief, protecting your community, & doing the little you can to protect the world, even if you can‘t save it all.🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗

As someone with a deep and profound respect of the oceans and seas (read: fear and love in equal parts), this book gave me a great deal of joy. I will, however, continue to love, respect and fear the waters on our planet from dry land. And do all I can as a singular human to mitigate my impact upon our benevolent Mother Earth.

This sweet, saltwatery seaside fantasy for middle grades is yet another reason I love K O‘Neill. Their gentle, emotionally validating, and powerfully messaged graphic novels are what this world needs. Aquicorn Cove is very much about environmental responsibility, community action, grief, and mutual care. I think in structure it‘s probably their weakest but the uniqueness, beauty, representation all make this a more than worthwhile read.

I didn't love this as much as the Tea Dragon Trilogy, but I'll gladly read anything Katie O'Neill puts out. The exploration of grief, as depicted on the page above, was stellar. O'Neill also focuses on the urgent need to restore the delicate balance in the relationship between humans and the rest of earth's creatures, especially marine life. And it's just so cute and beautiful, per usual. 🩷

A beautiful graphic novel with gorgeous illustrations 😍 and a important message.

5/5

I absolutely adored this book! Here's a creative shot I took of it for the review I posted to Instagram!

Did I mention that The ending also has a beautiful look at ocean stewardship and finding a balance between stewardship and people's economic wellbeing?

#Comic #Middlegrade #Ocean #Stewardship

A girl and her dad visit their old island home to help clean up after a massive storm. While there, the girl learns about the complex, delicate balance between protecting ocean ecosystems and sustaining economic growth, which her fisher aunt has forgotten. I loved this beautiful #MiddleGrade book. Great inclusivity too! This book may be hard for anyone who has lost a parent. #Environmentalism #GraphicNovel #Ocean #LGBTQCharacters #LGBTQAuthors

A cute and uplifting graphic novel that clearly draws connections between unsustainable fishing practices, the destruction of coral reefs, and the impact of climate change on coastal communities. 3 pages of facts about reefs are in the back matter. Love the combination of real humans with magical beings, the lesbian representation, and the sweet art. #AllAges #NewZealand #graphicnovel #kidlit #LGBTQ

Auntie Mae has muscles! I like seeing lesbian role models like this in books for kids.

Adorable #endpapers

This uncaptioned panel at the start of the book led me correctly to believe that our environment would be a topic in this graphic novel aimed primarily at children. What surprised me is that neither the issue of smoking nor of tossing rubbish on the ground is ever addressed. Instead, the heroic lesbian aunt is portrayed as a smoker without additional commentary and the environmental issues focus only on the sea and climate change. Unusual.

This is the third book that I have read by this author and I absolutely love her books. It is so sweet with a wonderful storyline and the artwork is amazing!!!!

Cute book about Lana, who has lost her Mom to the stormy ocean and is now helping her aunt‘s village to rebuild after another heavy storm. She also helps her aunt to see that the village needs to stop using plastic nets for fishing, as it destroys the reef. And there are the cute Aquicorns living in the ocean💕 the drawings are the cutest! The message is great too - lovely and quick ⭐️book 4/5

I‘ve ordered something off Amazon and needed a book so that I didn‘t have to pay postage. Oh nooo! Luckily I found one book I wanted😂😂😂😂😂

This looks SO cute! And I‘ve seen people on here post about the Tea Dragon Society often, so I‘m super excited to read this😍😍😍

I made it to 100! I will get a few more in before the year ends but yay!

Cute children‘s graphic novel. I preferred her earlier Tea Dragon Society as this felt a little heavy handed with its message, but it‘s a beautiful color palette again with adorable images. #24b4Monday

Cuteness overload! What a sweet story with such beautiful art. A young girl who lost her mother in a storm, returns to her seaside village a few years later to help her aunt clean up the latest storm damage. But while walking near the rock pools, she finds a little creature washed up by the waves. A cross between a unicorn & a seahorse, she takes care of it until not just the aquicorn is healed. Adorable! #24B4Monday #readathon

This is the most pure, delightful wee graphic novel I have ever read.

While I‘m on the hold list for tea dragon society #graphicnovels

Super cute book! I like the Tea Dragon Society a little bit better. The graphics are so cute! I love them! The story was adorable!

4/5⭐ Adorable, heartwarming, meaningful, and completely accessible to all ages. The message was a bit preachy/unsubtle, but given its importance I really can't fault the book for it. #NEWTsReadathon2019

I love Katie O‘Neill‘s style and stories. So different, and the illustrations are magical. I‘ve enjoyed all three I‘ve read by her and can‘t wait for the next one this fall.

I thought this was an extremely cute graphic novel. Loved the underlying message about saving the coral reef by not using plastic fishing nets. Great artwork!

I loved The Tea Dragon Society (and looking forward to the sequel this fall) but this one was underwhelming and preachy (even if I fully agree with the sermon). However I still consider it a pick because I am much older than the target market and I think kids will like it.

#BookMail Pt7 This is the new graphic novel from the writer of The Tea Dragon Society, which was the cutest & sweetest comic I‘ve ever read. While that one was full of the most adorable tiny dragons this has magical seahorse-unicorns. Could they be any more wonderful! Lana & her father return to their seaside home after a storm to find a colony of aquicorns needing help.🦄

Another cute story with magical creatures from the creator of the Tea Dragon Society, this time with an environmentally conscious message about coral reefs and the ocean. Touches on themes of community, grief, and loss as well but the pastel pictures keep it light.

Katie O‘Neill‘s illustrations are gorgeous. #middlegrademarch #middlegrade #graphicnovel

Here is my #TBR for #middlegrademarch. I raided my kids‘ bookshelves and ordered a few from my #library. I usually read about 4 books per month, but thought since they are children‘s books that I would likely be able to read a bit more. Are you reading any #middlegrade books this month? Are there any in this pile that you have read and would recommend I prioritize? Any titles I should add to this #stack? #bookstack

The art in this book is so wonderful, it fills my heart with joy. 🧡

I am wavering between a pick and a so-so because I came with really high expectations. I loved The Tea Dragon Society, so expected to be blown away by this too. It was nice but I didn't feel drawn in and connected to the story like I had to her other book. A very important environmental message, though, and gorgeous art.

❤️Katie O'Neill❤️
A really sweet book touching on tough subjects like grief and climate change and ocean conservation
👍🌊 🐠 🐙 🐚
#katieoneill #aquicorns

Katie O'Neill creates the sweetest all-ages comics, y'all. Her latest is all about love, community, and responsible ocean stewardship, with adorable undersea unicorn-dragons and unconventional merpeople thrown in for good measure. Her art is enchanting, as per usual, and her story made me tear up, also as per usual. I'm so glad contemporary kids have access to such lovely, layered work.

I lied when I said I'd made my last library haul of 2018. This is the actual, absolute last one, with a Michelle West chunkster from the discards sale as my final 2018 purchase (probably). I stocked up on all sorts so I don't have to mark any of 'em as New Acquisitions when I balance out my January reading. 😉

Casey thinks they all smell SUPER GOOD. He was especially drawn to Aquaman.

The most adorable endpaper! ❤❤❤❤ #endpapers

If you‘re still looking for “the right” book for an awesome mid-elementary age kid who might have loved #Amulet or #narwahlandjelly - grab this one!

#comics #graphicnovel #kidlit #christmasshopping #booksforchristmas #reading

A young girl and her dad visit her aunt who lives on a small island that‘s been hit by a storm. Lana discovers a baby aquicorn, a seahorse-like creature and she nurses it back to health. It is a tale of loss and grief - Lana is learning to cope with the death of her mother. And also one of the environment - the underwater creatures‘ homes are being destroyed by overfishing and pollution. And all accompanied by O‘Neill‘s gorgeous illustrations.

The Tea Dragon Society is one of my favorite young reader‘s graphic novels so I was pretty excited to read this one. The artwork is lovely but the story felt a little more forced and the relationships seemed less impactful. Still lots to look forward to, interesting characters.

#graphicnovels

An adorable children's comic about family and helping your community with a strong environmental message. This is the 3rd comic I've read by Katie O'Neill and each one has been equally adorable. So cute and sweet!

Aquicorn Cove by Katie O'Neill is a beautifully illustrated story about a little girl named Lana and a quick trip back to her hometown that teaches her some wonderful lessons. Such a cute read! I highly recommend it!

My full review here: https://www.ericarobynreads.com/2018/11/graphic-novel-review-aquicorn-cove.html?...

#middlegrade #graphicnovel

Excited to read the latest from Katie O‘Neill.

3.5⭐️ This book was not what i was expecting based on title and cover. It is a lovely graphic story about why you need to be kind to the ocean and any creature that might live there. The story is simple, but has meaning. The illustration spot on, and reminds me of a soft Studio Ghibli piece. The only thing I didn‘t like was that Aunt was a smoker, and it seemed to be constant. It‘s a small thing, but it irks me, which makes that book not as good.

Book two of the #reversereadathon complete! With such a cute cover, I wasn‘t expecting this to have so much depth. It‘s really a story about dealing with grief and depression and also taking care of the world around us. Lovely.

Beautiful art and writing. Tells a compelling story about a young girl who has lost her mother. Definitely recommend to pick up when it comes out!
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This book completed:
✨ the letter O- #litsyatoz (17/26)