Newsletter May 2025
Annual Purse Palooza Sale takes place May 3
The Friends of the Mission Viejo Library is hosting its annual Purse Palooza handbag sale from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, May 3 at the Norman P. Murray Community Center, 24932 Veterans Way. This crowd-favorite event boasts a wide variety of handbags, backpacks, and luggage for sale at remarkable prices, which is great for Mother’s Day gift-giving. All proceeds benefit the Mission Viejo Library.
Writers Present Kristina McMorris
Kristina McMorris, author of the New York Times million-copy bestseller “Sold on a Monday” and “The Ways We Hide,” will discuss her latest novel, a heartrending page-turner, “The Girls of Good Fortune” at 6:30 pm on Thursday, May 22 in the City Hall Council Chamber located at 200 Civic Center.
This unforgettable historical novel plunges the reader into the fascinating depths of Portland, Oregon’s Chinatown — from its opium parlors and gambling dens to its underground maze of Shanghai Tunnels. Through meticulous research spotlighting the post-Gold Rush Chinese immigrant experience and related shocking atrocities, “The Girls of Good Fortune” deftly explores the complexity of family and identity, the importance of stories that echo through generations, and the power of strength found beneath the surface.
Children’s Top 3 for May
Help your child’s math skills grow in a fun, fast-paced environment. Parents are also welcome to try out their skills! Math Challenge takes place Saturday, May 17 at 3 pm. This free program is for children in grades 2-6. Come test your math knowledge with fun and challenging puzzles and word problems. Our host extraordinaire Kosuke Nishimori is a certified math teacher with more than a decade of teaching experience. To sign up, visit cityofmissionviejo.org/events/math-challenge-3.
The month of May will feature Stay & Play. This fun social and play hour takes place Monday through Thursday in our Storytime Room. Drop in anytime between 10:30 and 11:45 am for playing and socializing in our Storytime Room. Monday and Thursday are the perfect time for toddlers to enjoy age-appropriate toys and activities. Every Tuesday is Baby time while Wednesday is devoted to preschoolers.
The Summer Reading Program is just around the corner! From June 15 to July 31, sign up your children ages 0 to 12 for a fun summer challenge with prizes to earn. We will kick it all off with a bang on Saturday, June 14 with a special event. This is a free and fun way to encourage your children to keep reading and learning even when school is out.
Books will be available for purchase onsite at this free event from our partner bookseller Adventures by the Book.
Teen volunteers sought for Summer Reading Program
Have fun and earn service hours!
Mission Viejo Library seeks energetic teen volunteers ages 13-17 to help with all aspects of the Summer Reading Program. The annual Summer Reading Program is a library tradition that instills a lifelong love of learning by encouraging children to read and participate in events over the summer.
The 2025 program begins on June 15 and runs through July 31. Teens interested in welcoming families, explaining the program, enrolling participants, and awarding prizes can sign up now.
Applications are available here and at the library. For more information, visit cityofmissionviejo.org/library/services/teen-services.
Seed Library springtime tip for end of season
Springtime planting continues in Southern California. Visit Mission Viejo Library’s seed library featuring heirloom flower, herb, and fruit and vegetable seeds.
It’s not too early to plan for the coming seed harvest. End-of-season hint: let one or two of your heirloom plants go to seed and bring some of those seeds back to us, if you can. The plants from these harvested seeds will yield stronger plants for the next season because the line will be more acclimated to our environment.
All you need is your library card to take home free seeds. Library staff can answer your non-technical questions about the seed library, which is located near the “ask here” desk, as well as show you many resources to help you learn more.
‘Finding Ships Manifest of Confused Immigrants’ with Joel Weintraub
Using a series of case studies, Joel will show how some immigrants going through the naturalization process had trouble providing acceptable documentation on their arrival to the United States. This research journey will help you understand how their initial confusion of facts and documents were resolved and why it's important for their subsequent family historian descendants.
About the speaker: Joel Weintraub, born and raised in New York City, is an emeritus professor of zoology at California State University, Fullerton. After early retirement, he volunteered at (then) the National Archives branch at Laguna Niguel helping the public access governmental records especially census forms. From that, Joel, with the help of Steve Morse and many volunteers, created a database of streets within census districts to help researchers find their census families if their address was known.
This free presentation is at 10 am on Saturday, May 17 and is open to all. The in-person meeting takes place at the Mission Viejo Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 27976 Marguerite Parkway. No registration is needed.
The South Orange County California Genealogical Society’s Genealogy Research Center located at the Mission Viejo Library is open five days a week with docents available to help you. Visit soccgs.org/library-hours for more information.