By Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

It’s no secret I’m a fan of summertime and getting outside to have some fun. I spend a lot of time talking about making Somerville a great place to play. Yet there’s something just as important to do during the summer as playing: reading.

It is vitally important for kids to make reading a lifelong habit. For most of the year, we have them reading every day in school. Yet the summer is no time to turn off your brain. If you do that, it’s a lot harder to turn it back on when school starts. It’s one of the keys to academic success. I know television, YouTube videos, video games and social media are a lot of fun, but for the most part those things aren’t going to lead to academic success. Reading will. It is the best was to prevent the notorious summer slide. Every book a kid reads during the summer is a building block for what is hopefully a strong school year.

The good news is here in Somerville we’ve got an amazing central library and two convenient branch libraries located in the eastern and western sections of the city that are open six days a week. When you’re wondering what to do with your kids, a weekly trip to the library should be at the top of the agenda. The kids section in our library is fabulous. It can be hard to convince your kids to leave it. It’s especially nice in the summer when you’re looking for a comfortable, air-conditioned spot to get away from the heat. You come away from a trip to the library feeling refreshed and with a book in hand that you’re excited to read.

Most of all it builds good habits that last a lifetime. At every age reading activates your brain. Kids improve their reading comprehension and vocabulary. It expands their base of knowledge too. They learn about history and famous figures from our past and present. Reading helps them discover different places and cultures, and better understand the world around them. For those of us who are older, reading keeps us sharp. The smartest people I know are generally the most well-read people I know. They never stop learning.

There’s also a wider variety of things to read these days than ever before. You can read an e-book on your phone. You can get access to every newspaper and magazine from around the world with a simple Internet search. If there’s a series of books you really like, you can read the fan fiction associated with it.

Comics are also better and more varied than ever. We have some great comics shops here in Somerville, notably Hub Comics in Union Square and Comicazi in Davis Square. There’s comic series and graphic novels for kids, teens and adults. If you’re not in the mood for Shakespeare, maybe you are in the mood for the Watchmen or Bone. No one said reading had to be a chore. There’s all sorts of things out there to read. Find the stories and topics that interest your kids the most and help them dive into them. Ideally we want kids looking forward to what they’re going to read each day.

In our schools, we’ve poured resources into improving the reading skills of our students, and the writing skills that go hand-in-hand with them. During the past 12 years we’ve seen proficient and advanced scores in the English/Language Arts portion of the MCAS test rise dramatically from 50% to 85%. Math scores (up from 46% to 73%) and science scores (up from 12% to 70%) have made even bigger jumps, but reading lays the foundation for all of that improvement. Reading is the gateway to learning. You got to be able to understand your math and science textbooks to master those disciplines. Reading really is fundamental.

So set aside some family reading time. Kids who see their parents read are more likely to read themselves. If you go to the beach or to a pool, bring books. It’s a great way to pass the time when you’re catching rays in a chair or on a beach towel. Ask your kids about what they’re reading and what they plan on reading next. If your family has been reading all summer, great job and keep it up. If it hasn’t, it’s time to kick that into gear. Everything your kids read in August is going to pay dividends when they’re back in school in September.