Akbar's India tells the story of Akbar (emperor of India 1556 -1605) through eight paintings. The paintings were selected from many produced in his workshops to tell the story of his remarkable reign. The book was written and the different exercises were devised to encourage children to give the pictures more than a cursory glance -- to help them see the hidden history, the drama, the stories behind them. The last section of the book labelled "for the especially curious" gives information, sometimes quite lengthy, about matters just touched on or not mentioned in the first section.