Unit 17: Voyages of Discovery and Exploration Novels and Chapter Books

List of Novels and Chapter books to go with Unit 17 of Big Ideas through History which covers Sailing Around Africa, Crossing the Atlantic, Circumnavigating the Globe, and the Portuguese.

See additional resources for Unit 17: Voyages of Discovery and Exploration and recommended general resources

Purchase Unit 17 of the Big Ideas through History program

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Books listed are available through Amazon. Many of the books may also be available at your local library; through Abe Books or other used book sellers; or via Books-a-Million. See my Book Deals page for current promotions and savings from various book sellers.

I have not read all of these books and there is a wide range of levels. I suggest thoroughly researching the appropriateness of each book for your situation before sharing with your children.

(affiliate links)	Section 49: ———————— Sailing Around Africa	Section 50: ———————— Crossing the Atlantic	Section 51: ———————– Circum- navigating the Globe	Peoples XVII: ———————— Portuguese
Vasco Da Gama: And the Sea Route to India
Prince Henry the Navigator and the Highways of the Sea
Spice and the Devil’s Cave
A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama 1497-1499
The Portuguese Empire and Africa: The History and Legacy of Portugal’s Exploration and Colonization of the West African Coast
Henry the Navigator (World’s Great Explorers)
The Three Voyages of Vasco da Gama, and His Viceroyalty
The Career and Legend of Vasco da Gama
Explorers to the New World: Moments in History
First Voyage to America: From the Log of the “Santa Maria”
The European Exploration of America
The European Discovery of America: Vol 2, The Southern Voyages A.D. 1492-1616
First Peoples of the Americas and the European Age of Exploration
Darkness They Could Not See
Exploring the New World: An Interactive History Adventure
Christopher Columbus: Controversial Explorer of the Americas
Ferdinand Magellan: And the First Voyage Around the World
The Blind Horn’s Hate: Magellan, Drake and Other Adventurers in the Uttermost South
Around the World in a Hundred Years: From Henry the Navigator to Magellan
Ship’s Boy with Magellan
Sir Francis Drake and the Struggle for an Ocean Empire
The Sea Lord Francis Drake
Drake: The Man They Called a Pirate
Portugal (Major World Nations)
Rivers of Gold: The Treasures and Charms of Portugal
The Portuguese in the Age of Discovery c.1340–1665
Portugal in European and World History
The Lilac Fairy Book
The Lusiads
Lyrics of Gil Vicente
Portuguese Folk-Tales