Carter was named to the Wisconsin Library Association's list "Notable Wisconsin Authors" in 2002 and his novel "Up Country" was selected in March 1994 for the ALA list The Best of the Best: the 100 Best Young Adult. Other novels, "Sheila's Dying", "Growing Season", "Up Country", "Between a Rock and a Hard Place", "Bull Catcher", and "Wart, Son of Toad" were named American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults. His Civil War novel, "Bright Starry Banner", combining an epic sized cast from every level of the military with vivid narration won the John Esten Cooke Fiction Award from the Military Order of the Stars & Bars.