"A memoir, a social commentary, a writing manual, Invitations to the World spans Richard Peck's entire career - from his first days as a high school English teacher ("My first students, who weren't a lot younger than I was, seemed to be inhabiting another planet, and were") to his current life as a Newbery-winning author (in a field "in which your books can sell a million copies and some of your own friends have no idea what you do for a living"). Richard Peck shares his insight, touching on the issues that have long challenged him and inspired his novels: the dangers of conformity and censorship, the limits and shortcomings of our education system, and foremost, the need to provide the young with books that will nourish their fragile individuality and welcome them to the world."--BOOK JACKET.