Award-winning author and illustrator Matthew Cordell will present the Cooperative Children’s Book Center’s 2026 Charlotte Zolotow Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Room 350 of the Teacher Education Building.

The title of Cordell’s lecture is “Work in Progress: The Ever-Changing Process and Approach of Matthew Cordell.”

Cordell received the 2018 Caldecott Medal for “Wolf in the Snow,” a wordless picture book about a girl who rescues a lost wolf pup and is later rescued in return. He also wrote and illustrated “Starman: The Cosmic Voyage of David Bowie,” “102,” “Evergreen,” and the Cornbread and Poppy series. His highly acclaimed children’s books have been translated into many languages for readers around the world.

Many of Cordell’s titles have been included in “CCBC Choices” or earned a CCBC Starred Review.

A Room of One’s Own bookstore will sell selections of the author’s books before and after the lecture.

Established in 1998, the annual Charlotte Zolotow Lecture is named for the distinguished children’s book editor of 38 years and author of more than 65 picture books.

The free public lecture is sponsored by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) and the Friends of the CCBC, Inc., and is part of the Wisconsin Book Festival.

Registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance. The lecture will be available via livestream and recorded for later viewing. 

The Friends of the CCBC will host a small reception directly before the lecture in the CCBC’s Elizabeth Burr Conference Room from 6-7 p.m.