FAMILY : ‘Baru Bay’: Friendly to the Environment

Grateful Dead guitarist-singer Bob Weir and his sister, artist Wendy Weir, have teamed up again to create their second environmentally conscious book and audiocassette package for children, “Baru Bay: Australia,” following 1991’s well-received “Panther Dream: A Story of the African Rainforest.”

On Side One of the cassette, Weir reads the vividly illustrated book in a straightforward narrative geared to young children. The story, about a little girl’s discovery of the aboriginal dreamtime creation tradition and the rich but fragile world of the coral reef, is accompanied by Weir’s original music and natural sounds of the Australian outdoors, from kookaburras to crocodiles and katydids.

A tribal song is performed by guest artist Mandawuy Yunupingu, leader of the aboriginal rock group Yothu Yindi. The simple tale’s underlying, unforced message is ecological preservation.

Side Two is instrumental, featuring Weir’s New Age-y, lush blend of nature sounds, guitar, drums and synthesizers, didgeridoo and clapsticks, plus aboriginal chants performed by Yunupingu.

* “Baru Bay: Australia,” book and audiocassette, Hyperion Books for Children, $19.95.

Artistic: Young artists, ages 3 to 14, get your sketchbooks ready: You’re invited to submit original drawings to a contest sponsored by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The contest is being held in conjunction with the “Peter and the Wolf” family concert to be held at the Hollywood Bowl on July 8. Drawings should depict one or more of the creatures portrayed in Camille Saint-Saens “Carnival of the Animals”: lion, mule, elephant, hen, fossil, bird, goldfish, tortoise, rooster, swan, cuckoo, pianist, kangaroo and cat.

Artwork must be on paper no larger than 8 1/2-by-11 inches and done in paint, markers, crayon, pencil, charcoal, collage or a combination. On the back, include the artist’s name, address, phone number, age and school or organization. Note: A parent or guardian signature is required as permission for the Bowl to display and/or publish the artwork.

The winning drawings, selected from several age categories by a panel of judges--among them noted animator Chuck Jones--will be projected on the Bowl’s big screen during the July 8 performance.

Drawings should be sent to Children’s Art Contest, Hollywood Bowl Museum, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90078. The deadline is June 9.

Live ‘Sing’: Fans of the sugary sweet but immensely popular “Wee Sing” musical video series can catch a quartet of their favorite characters--Silly Whim, Tusky, Webber and, gulp, Little Bunny Foo Foo--in a new live song-and-dance and sing-along stage show debuting at the newly created “Sillyville” in Universal Studios Hollywood’s Entertainment Center on May 27-29 and June 3-4.

Information: (818) 508-9600.