On October 10, 1935, George Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess premieres on Broadway. The critics of the day were decidedly mixed in their reception of Porgy and Bess, however. While Olin Downes of The New York Times found “much to commend it from the musical standpoint,” composer/critic Virgil Thomson, writing for the New York Herald-Tribune, was less kind, calling Gershwin’s incorporation of blues and jazz influences into a “serious” operatic score to be “falsely conceived and rather clumsily executed…crooked folklore and half-way opera.” Find Porgy and Bess at the library, on hoopla and on Freegal.

Robert Daniel San Souci (October 10, 1946 – December 19, 2014) was a multiple award winning children’s book author. He often worked with his brother, Daniel San Souci, a children’s book illustrator. He was a consultant to Disney Studios and was instrumental in the production of the film Mulan, for which he wrote the story.

Daniel San Souci, artist and illustrator, was born in San Francisco on October 10, 1948. In 1978, Doubleday Publishers offered him a contract to do the art for a book titled “The Legend of Scarface: A Blackfeet Indian Tale.” This first book did well and won awards, including the “New York Times Best Illustrated Book.” This started a thirty year career in book illustration. During this time, Daniel published over eighty books and created many book covers, including ones for “The Chronicle of Narnia” series. He also won numerous awards with his books including “The Boston Globe/Hornbook Award,” “The Gold Medallion” from the Christian Booksellers Association,” “The National Parenting Publications Gold Award,” and “The Children’s Choice Award.” He is also proud of the many wildlife books he has created, including three for the National Parks.

Find Robert and Daniel San Souci at the library