Physician and ventriloquist, Rama Pemmaraju Rao brings magic and fun in these tales.

These stories contain vivid imagery, clever rhyming story lines, and colorful characters all designed to walk school age children through magic and fun in order to help discover gifts, talents, and lessons from the heart. They are designed to offer useful and vital messages on how to build character and develop self-esteem. Their central focus is on self-empowerment and love as well as on themes of giving and sharing.

The Wicked Piglet and Princess Sue is a snappy and humorous tale. The wicked piglet is so greedy, mischievous, and dirty that no one in the town of Genji can tolerate his pranks. Finally, Mister Stork takes the squealing piglet to see Princess Sue, who is under a spell from the country witch. The spell can only be broken through a kiss from the piglet. Read this tale to see how the piglet transforms his heart and changes his selfish behavior.

Gupta and White Tiger Cub is a touching tale set in the jungles of India. Little Gupta finds a white tiger cub in the jungle and befriends him. However, Gupta and the whole village are in for a surprise and quite a scare, when the adult tigers find their cub missing. This story is about love, friendship, and the tender heart of a child who loves his newly found pet, despite the fact that he cannot ultimately keep the cub.

Mooney Gin Rummy - the Ventriloquist Dummy is a delightful story about a dummy who finds he has a tummy ache and does not know why. He visits Donny Pumpkinhead and together they visit the "Dummy doctor." Mooney discovers he has stage fright and then arranges a show to overcome his fear. This show is a smash and Mooney becomes aware that his fear leaves when he faces it. This story teaches self-empowerment despite our shortcomings.

Wu Shang Shi and the Quan Yin Queen is a story with vivid imagery and a very clever story line. Little Wu Shang Shi is so poor and wants to help his family. The mean landlord is greedy and stinky and is always bothering his parents. Wu Shang Shi seeks out the Wuan Yin Wueen through some friends to obtain some magical powers to fight the mean landowner. However, Wu discovers the power of his mind and heart is more useful and magical than the powers he thinks he needs.

Jean Pierre and Visitors of Light is a story about a little boy who befriends some helpful aliens while playing in the forest. He loves them so much and wants everyone to hear of their helpful hands for the people of the earth. However, no one believes him at first, until he becomes strong enough to speak his Truth. He is well rewarded when the visitors show up in spaceships above the jeering town. This is a story of bravery, hope, and feeling strong with our own experience, despite what others say.

Rallo the Brown Clown is a tale that teaches the futility of racial discrimination. A town of playful white clowns has no idea what to do when Rallo, a brown clown, visits their picnic and show. The white clowns play mean tricks and end up soaked in a big tub. They then realize at the end that they are all friends--one and the same--through an interesting twist in the story.

The Wizard Lizard is a mysterious wizard that an old lady seeks out through an adventure with some of her friends. She tries to find him because she is lonely; she thinks the lizard will be her friend. After finally reaching him, he teaches her that she is her own best friend. She then realizes why he is so powerful and that his real magic lies in helping people to be themselves.

Eppy the Owl--Poor little Eppy! She so much wants to play during the day and sleep at night but realizes that is just not what owls do. She seeks out some magical gifts that allow her to play in the day but then gets into a load of trouble. She finally realizes that everyone has a place that is best for him or her and she feels happy to just be herself.

Little Salmut was born with only one wing and foot. No one bothers to help or include him in his or her play. Finally, a group of penguins rally other new friends to build Salmut a flying and sailing machine so that he can move about and catch fish. Salmut ends up quite a happy camper as readers discover a little surprise at the end of the story. It is a tale that teaches that the physically challenged can contribute much to the world if given an equal chance as others.

Rama Pemmaraju Rao MD is a board-certified physician who specializes in Internal Medicine and Psychiatric Medicine. He is currently assistant clinical professor at University of Alabama Medical School/Children's Hospital in Psychiatry/Child Psychiatric Medicine. He also deals with primary care medical issues as well.

He continues to deepen his process in training and education in Integrative and Complementary Medicine. His lifelong goal is to bring the best of East and West into the medical setting, to afford optimal healing. His ultimate vision is to create a broad new paradigm in health and medicine through teaching, education, and through the manifestation of new clinic models that blend the Orient and the Occident.

Dr. Pemmaraju Rao is a native Texan born in San Antonio, Texas, and whose parents and ancestry are from South India. He has blended the best of East and West in his life and has seen first-hand issues in the human condition that warrant a broader outlook and approach to health and healing.

He completed medical training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, and continued residency in Medicine's Psychiatry, and Child Psychiatry at Baylor Affiliated Hospitals, Harvard Medical School (Children's Hospital), and Dallas Presbyterian Hospitals.

Dr. Pemmaraju Rao appears regularly on television and radio for all affiliates in Birmingham, Alabama, on health, healing, and spirituality.

He has had a lifelong background in Yoga and its practices. His deepest dream is to convey the teachings and principles of spirituality and healing inspired by the ideals of a number of meditation masters he has personally followed throughout the world.

His original Guru is Swami Satchidananda who is his most revered personal master and mentor he has known since childhood. Swami Satchidananda is the Guru and founder of Integral Yoga© who came to the United States in the sixties and whose teachings are well known throughout the West.

Dr. Pemmaraju Rao's spiritual journey has further led him to the intimate quest of the heart and the search for the Divine Mother. In this process, he has been extremely fortunate to receive the direct energy, guidance, and grace of a number of different embodiments of the Divine Mother around the world.

These women have included Mother Meera (Dornberg/Thalheim Germany), * Mata Amritananda (MaCenter/San Ramon, CA), Suma Ching Hai, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda^TM (Siddha Yoga^TM lineage, South Fallsburg, NY), Karunamayi Vijayeshwari (SMVA Trust NY), and Anandi Ma (Dhyan Yoga^TM, Antioch, CA).

He is also particularly grateful for the Guidance of Master Subramaniya of the Saiva Siddhanta San Marga Temple in Kaui, Hawaii.

Dr. Pemmaraju Rao's philosophy of life is that we are forever growing and learning on the path to enlightenment. He feels there is nothing that is "not spiritual" if we simply shift our focus, increase our contemplation and introspection, as well as deepen our insight. Real spirituality, he feels is truly being one's Self and accepting everything about others and ourselves in every given moment. We must be who we are and learn and grow from wherever we are. One cannot ignore issues in Psychology 101 and claim to be spiritual. He constantly looks to the enlightened masters as examples of what we must all become. In fact, he feels we are already enlightened. Ultimately everything reveals itself to us in its own time when we approach and return to God or Source directly within our own beings.

It is a matter of uncovering layer by layer "that which we are not in order to experience the enlightened state." Ultimate perfect health is the experience of enlightenment; everything we do represents our quest for health and healing through life's journey of Self-Realization and unfoldment.

Dr. Pemmaraju Rao sees the entire age group of children in his medical practice and especially enjoys writing for kids on themes with clever story lines. He wishes to convey useful messages about character and self-esteem building.

He is also a ventriloquist and performs shows for kids and adults.

Mooney Gin Rummy, the Ventriloquist Dummy,
sat up in bed with an aching tummy!
On a fine sunny day
in a small Swiss town.
Mooney Gin Rummy was feeling down.

He moaned and groaned as he rolled out of bed
to find his friend Donny Pumpkin Head.
He walked to the place where Don sat on a shelf
and said, "Dear Don, what’s the matter with myself?"

"I woke up with a bellyache!
Could it be from the jellybeans I ate?"
Donny replied, "Well, my boy, it’s hard to say;
let’s go see the puppet doctor today!"

The two skipped down through the small Swiss square
and into the office of the puppet doctor there.
"Good morning, my man," the doctor said.
"You have a tummy ache and your face is quite red!"
He opened Mooney’s wooden belly door
and out flew butterflies across the floor!
So sappy and sore was Mooney’s wooden head,
the puppet doctor had to lay him in bed.
He checked his wooden feet and toes.
He looked down his mouth and checked his nose.

At last the puppet doctor sighed and cried,
"My dear Mooney, there is nothing wrong inside!
Perhaps your bellyache is not from jellybeans at all.
Maybe you are sad, or angry or feeling quite small."

"Sometimes we say our body hurts in our tummy down there,
when really it’s because we are feeling scared.
Our feelings are important to us and to those who care!"

"Although sometimes we are really ill,
talking about feelings is the best thing still!
For when we really look inside,
we find out there’s really nothing to hide!"

Mooney began to wonder, to feel and to think.
He wrote down how he felt with pen and ink.
He took some paper from the shelf,
and he wrote a letter to himself: