A Journey on a Scooter

This appears to be an innocent journey on a scooter, with a boy called Yaki. But he isn`t traveling alone – behind him on the scooter is Ramona, an older woman with a violin on her back. The beauty of Daniella Carmi`s charming story lies in an idea that the reader will only discover when s/he reads it the second time. The journey is through Tel Aviv, the first Hebrew city, but also through Jaffa, Tel Aviv`s older sister, where Arabs and Jews live side by side. Yaki is fascinated by details like a snail, a lizard`s tail and a red motorcycle. He’s also curious to find the surprise awaiting him in Ramona`s case while she looks for a quiet house where she can play her violin. It’s hard to find quiet in the big, noisy city but Ramona doesn`t give up. And so we wander with them, looking for a house with character from the time when Tel Aviv was small and you could hear violin music coming from people`s homes. Ramona, who has a romantic soul, ignores the high rises and takes no notice of the ordinary house where her friend Misha the cellist, a Russia immigrant, now lives. She prefers old houses and is sorry that lovely buildings like the poet Bialik`s home and the first city hall are being replaced by towers that shut out the sky. At a certain point Yaki gets tired, so Ramona takes over on the scooter and takes them to Jaffa. There they come to an abandoned house that still has some of its old beauty. Ramona explains that the family who lived there had to leave and couldn`t take their piano. She is a bit sad, but then she takes out her violin and begins to play. And here, Ramona finally opens the case: next to the violin there`s a little chick, a gift for Yaki.

English translation available (for publishers only)