All Urbandale Reads

The 2026 All Urbandale Reads selection will be announced in April!

About the All Urbandale Reads Program

All Urbandale Reads is a “one book, one community” reading initiative that encourages all Urbandale citizens to read and discuss the same book. The goal of All Urbandale Reads is to unite the community and promote literacy through one inspiring read. All Urbandale Reads programming features book discussions and a program or two related to themes found in the selected book.

How is the All Urbandale Reads book selected?

Library staff review a variety of critically acclaimed books based on their themes, readability, and the opportunities for related programs each book may present. A selection committee made up of the library staff and various representatives from around the community read and review a list of finalists based on this same criteria and make a final selection. 

Past All Urbandale Reads books:

• "The Light Pirate" by Lily Brooks-Dalton (2025)
• “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah (2024)
• “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot (2023)
• “This Tender Land” by William Kent Krueger (2022)
• “When the Emperor Was Divine” by Julie Otsuka (2021)
• “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien (2020)
• “The Story of Arthur Truluv” by Elizabeth Berg (2019)
• “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith (2018)

All Urbandale Reads reading material and programming funded by the Urbandale Public Library Foundation.