Since 2019, Edina High School has put on the StoryWalk for students to enjoy while they browse for a new read. The StoryWalk is designed to get students off of their phones and look up and read the story as they walk down the hall.

Media specialist Sara Swenson is the manager of the StoryWalk and was inspired by the program StoryWalk Adventures in Boston, Mass.

The walk is located outside of the media center, where everyone in the school can read and talk about the book displayed. “The idea at Edina High School was to take the StoryWalk idea but put it inside for students of all ages, so students who are working on early literacy skills had an opportunity to engage with books differently,” Swenson said.

Many programs at EHS use the StoryWalk in their daily activities. The Edina Unified program uses the StoryWalk to help students with their early reading skills as well as let them engage with books in a new and different way. Many students in the speech program also use the StoryWalk to practice their sounds in a more engaging way.

The books that are displayed at the StoryWalk are chosen by Swenson. “We look for books that have early literacy skills,” Swenson said. “So books with counting numbers and different ways to engage with books in addition to reading the words that are printed on the page.”

The StoryWalk has been at EHS for over half a decade and will continue to be something that people can engage in and read while they remember books from their childhood.

This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on May 8, 2025