Find out what MNers have to say about Banjo Robinsons’ personalised letters to 4-7 year olds - Non-tester? Get 15% off your subscription

[EllieMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the Mumsnet users who tested the personalised pen pal experience from Banjo Robinson the travelling cat, who helps boost creativity, reading and writing skills for their child/children.

Non-Tester? 90% of Mumsnet Tester's children wrote Banjo a reply and Banjo Robinson has now officially launched! They are offering 15% off full subscription charges with the code BanjoLovesMumsnet. This code is valid until 31/10/18.

Here’s what testers received:

• An initial introduction pack which includes: a personalised letter introducing Banjo and his travels, a world map, stickers to track Banjo’s progress, personalised stickers to use creatively, a doodle sheet to colour, a reply page to draw and write their response, a reply envelope with postage stamp stickers.
• A follow up letter from Banjo Robinson detailing his next stop in his travels including more goodies.

Here’s what Tree Climber Publishing have to say: “Banjo Robinson the cat is in India at the moment, checking out the Taj Mahal. He was at the pyramids last Tuesday, and next week he's off to the Great Wall of China. And while he’s away on his amazing travels, Banjo sends real, personalised letters to your child full of exciting tales all year round. Your child will get a world map and stickers to track Banjo’s progress and two personalised letters asking them to reply with pictures and messages.

Letters from Banjo Robinson encourage them to craft a reply, improving their writing skills and creativity. Parents can spend quality time with their children, away from tablets and TV, reading Banjo's letters, widening the child’s vocabulary, learning about different countries, and building communication skills."

Testers please answer the following questions:

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
• What did you like most about the letters?
• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription was £7.90/month, however as a result of your feedback, Tree Climber has decided to price this offering at £5.35. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

All testers who leave the required feedback will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

I thought they were a really good idea. The quality was very good.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

^ My son loved the letters and the whole idea of Banjo. He really did think it was magical and couldn't wait to write back and draw a picture. ^

• What did you like most about the letters?

^ I like that it encourages reading and writing instead of more screen time. It also helps with geography and learning about the world. Nice touches include the personalisation about one of our cats, being addressed to my son, personalised stickers, the wall map. It's very well thought out. ^

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

^ A back story is a definite must, as I was almost caught out when I initially told my son that I had met a cat called Banjo. He asked "what did Banjo look like?" I^ managed to think on my feet and come back with something like "Oh you know, like our cats with pointy ears, a fluffy tail and whiskers!"...

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

^ Yes, definitely. ^

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription was £7.90/month, however as a result of your feedback, Tree Climber has decided to price this offering at £5.35. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

^ £5.35 seems very reasonable for 2 letters a month, particularly if they can be personalised. For mumsnetters who have taken part in this test, will Banjo be re-introduced or will the next letter continue where we left off?^

Very satisfied. They loved it. They wrote back to each letter.
They loved hearing about it and how special it was to get a letter especially to get.

How fun they were.

The timing of when the next letter should come needs to be addressed in the letter.
I would recommend it.

I think the price is slightly above what I expected but not much.

Only just seen the lower price. Yes, would sign up to this.

Just read the thread and saw about the changes based on the feedback thread and think it's great that they really are choosing to listen to the feedback, rather than a previous product test (Tesco), whom just wanted the "mumsnet rated" slogan

We'll definitely be signing up.

Love the little things like this.

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service? Once up and running it was good! The letters were fun and well written, good quality and fun stickers and map.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back? He loved them, thougjt it was super exciting and loved the reference to our own cat in the letter. He definitely believed and was eager to write back.

• What did you like most about the letters?

The make believe aspect, little bit magical.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

Would be nice to have a fee more personalised aspects and references to childs likes etc.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

Yes it was alot of fun.

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription was £7.90/month, however as a result of your feedback, Tree Climber has decided to price this offering at £5.35. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

I think £5 is a fair price, anything above that would be too much.

Many, many thanks for the items, and for the opportunity to be part of this product trial.

- Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
It was ok, but not as exciting as I first envisaged it to be, and the content was not catered to our child's reading ability

- What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
Like most children I would imagine, he was excited to receive a letter personally addressed to him. However, he found it difficult to write back without a lot of support (and he is generally a good writer in his age group)

- What did you like most about the letters?
The personalised stickers were good, as well as several of the additional elements

- Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
There may have been more items / stationary, and the reading/writing content should be differentiated for age / ability

- Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
No, sorry - not at the price stated, and the current level / amount of content included

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

Fairly satisfied.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

My children were very excited to get the letter, but they lost interest quickly. They didn't believe I'd had lunch with a cat but they did love it when the letter mentioned our own cat. They did write a response after a bit of reminding. Then they forgot all about it until the next letter came.

• What did you like most about the letters?

Nice for the children to get some post and to think about Brazil.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

Would be good to include more than one child in the letters.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

Probably not. It was a bit of fun but didn't hold their interest.

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription was £7.90/month, however as a result of your feedback, Tree Climber has decided to price this offering at £5.35. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

This does seem like better value than than previous price listed.

My DD age 5 thought Banjo Robinson was “funny and nice”. She liked the letters but wasn’t massively excited about them. One of the letters sat on the stairs unread for a while. She got a bit tired of trying to read them even though most of the contents of the letters were within her reading level. They are a bit long but somehow don’t really have that much to say. It would have been nice if they were more informative and provided more facts and insights about the places “visited.”
Because you don’t actually send the children’s letters anywhere, you don’t get a sense of real correspondence. It makes me think I should encourage more letter writing to relatives or find actual pen pals instead of imaginary ones. It was a nice idea, the character is cute and the illustrations for kids to colour are appealing, but it wasn’t as much fun as we’d imagined it would be. It kind of got lost in the busy schedule of the end of summer activities like school holiday club, family holidays, getting ready for the start of school.
I think it might be good for parents who are stuck for finding activities for their kids to do, but it doesn’t give as much information as going to museums and international themed cultural events, reading library books about the world, it’s more expensive than most colouring books and there’s more use in making cards for friends’ and relatives’ birthdays. I feel bad dissing Banjo and DD doesn’t want to say anything that isn’t nice, but it doesn’t have a wow factor that would get me to subscribe. Having said that, I will have to wait and see if DD starts to miss getting Banjo’s letters. On the one hand she thinks it is super, but she hasn’t even gotten around to writing a response to the 2nd letter. It’s like homework that she enjoys but she needs too many reminders to complete the activities.

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

It was ok. But was a bit difficult to read and understand for my son.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

He was exited when received it and wrote back.

• What did you like most about the letters?

I liked stikers and map.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

It needs to be in kids language.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

I am not sure if I will recomend, but I will mention it.

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’

The price is a bit high.

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

I was quite happy with the letter and contents. It looked fun with the letter and stickers. The idea of a travelling pen pal is good, to learn about different countries and cultures.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

My 8 year old son liked the letter and the stickers. He didn't write back though as he knew it wasn't real, and questioned it. The idea of putting the letter under the sofa didn't ring true with him.

• What did you like most about the letters?

I liked the letter and the stickers. I liked the little envelopes.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

A magazine with stories and puzzles would be a good idea. More information about the countries i.e. environment, animals, plants and food.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

Not for my sons age. Maybe for younger children.

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription was £7.90/month, however as a result of your feedback, Tree Climber has decided to price this offering at £5.35. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

I like the online idea, as it would make the letters seem more authentic. However the price is quite expensive for 2 letters a month. I would expect at least one magazine a month for this.

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

Communication wasn't great to begin with. Overall the letters and content was fine.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

To be honest my child was not as interested as expected and other than playing with the stickers hadnt really bought the concept. As he is only 4 he did not write back.

• What did you like most about the letters?The stickers and map idea its a clever interactive way to learn about countries.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?Felt the letters were a little long and not visual enough.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

Maybe they need to be at the right age and have the right interest in geography.

Prise wise I still feel that price is still on the expensive side.

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
Extremely.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

My daughter loved the letters. Before we'd even finished reading the last bit she jumped up to write back. So excited.

• What did you like most about the letters?

All of it of I'm honest. The excitement my daughter showed st receiving the letter, the personalisation, the involvement with me, het passion to write back and be creative. Loved it!

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

Some of the language or structure was quite advanced for a 5 year old, but it prompted lots of conversation. Don't know if that's an improvement thing though.May e more involvement with the map and making it more interactive than just the sticker. It's a great concept but could be so much more.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

Absolutely!

The price change is much better and great value at £5.35. Much better.

I thought the letters and stickers were really nice.
My son was excited to receive the letters but wasn't keen to write back. He liked the stickers.

I liked the the personal and fantasy element, a cat that can write and goes on adventures.

I think it would work really well in a school setting helping the kids learn about the world.

Even though my son wasn't keen on all of the elements of the subscription I would recommend it to family and friends.

I think £5.35 is a fair price for the subscription.

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

Really satisfied. I felt the letters could have been closer together but, other than that, the content and the idea as a whole was good.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

Loved them. My son was fascinated & wrote back both times. He loved the big map & enjoyed adding the stickers to it.

• What did you like most about the letters?

The geography element and the addition of stickers. It was good to have the note paper and envelope included for DS’s reply too.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

The timing between the letters.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

Yes, I would.

A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

That’s probably too pricey for me. Perhaps a one off payment for 4 or 5 letters could be an alternative to a subscription. Although my child enjoyed it I think children of that age lose interest in things after a while.

Ooh. Just spotted the price change, that's definitely more appealing

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
it look quite a long time to get both letters. I thought the letter was abit long and detailed, more visuals would have been better

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

he really liked them as was very excited to receive the letters. he has written back once but not done the second letter yet

• What did you like most about the letters?

I liked that it was personalised to my son, he really enjoyed sticking the stickers on the envelope and leaving it under the sofa for our cat to take away

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

the letter was abit long and was too hard for him to read. more pictures and visuals would be better

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

not sure, i'm undecided

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

I thought the letters were well presented a lot of effort has gone into details such as personalised stickers, illustrations, Stamps on envelopes, personal information in the letter and story.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

She was excited to see the first one however with it being very long she was overwhelmed and wouldn't read it herself. She loved the stickers and wrote him a reply back. My daughter is 6 and found some parts hard to believe other parts she would and go along with.

• What did you like most about the letters?

I liked the attention to detail it was something different to read to her and she was able to write/draw a reply back connected to it.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

I think an extra postcard size reply with larger writing on for the child to read them selves would be better for a younger child who has not been reading for long.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

I would recommend the letters if anyone asked about it.

A Banjo Robinson subscription was £7.90/month, however as a result of your feedback, Tree Climber has decided to price this offering at £5.35. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

I think the cheaper price is a lot better I think if parents can afford it it is a fair price. Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to with my budget maybe I would consider it as a one off.

Thank you for letting us take part.

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
I thought the service was very good, we loved the personal touch to the letters.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

My daughter was thrilled to receive the letter. She is 6 and when I told her about meeting banjo she was sceptical that she would get a letter so when she did she couldn’t believe it. She wrote back to the letters straight away.

• What did you like most about the letters?

The personalisation aspect of it

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

I feel there could be a bit more facts about the countries that banjo visited. Also the letters were a bit long winded in part and my daughter got a bit bored. Also could have been a few extra freebies thrown in.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

Yes

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription was £7.90/month, however as a result of your feedback, Tree Climber has decided to price this offering at £5.35. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

I think £5.35 is much more reasonable. I would not have paid £7.90 for it. If some of the things I have mentioned about were implemented I would be interested in subscribing but maybe for £5 rather than £5.35.

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

The idea is a nice one but there was such a huge gap between the letters. My daughter enjoyed getting the letters and replying, but there wasn't much engagement after about 20 minutes. She is a competent reader and writer so perhaps not really the target.

What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

She loved getting post and did write back. She knew that Banjo wasn't real but liked playing along.

What did you like most about the letters?

She really liked the long letters and would have been a bit disappointed had the letters been shorter. She loved the stickers that came with them.

Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

Good to see that the feedback in relation to the cost and souvenirs has already been taken on board. The letters could have more facts about the place. Being able to personalise would be good so pleased that's possible with the real thing.

Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

I probably wouldn't. It was fun but only briefly. As others have said, there was no real Wow! factor that kept her engaged.

‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription was £7.90/month, however as a result of your feedback, Tree Climber has decided to price this offering at £5.35. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

Given the Cbeebies magazine with far greater interactivity is £4-5, no, I don't think it is a fair price. It just wasn't interactive or engaging enough. My DC love getting post but the time/interest just wasn't great, and that's by a child who can read and write independently.

Thank you for the chance to be involved with this trial.

My daughter was excited about getting the letter. I followed instructions and laid the groundwork by saying I'd met a friend of her toy cat, Banjo Robinson (I did keep wanting to say Monty Bojangles for some reason ) and she said all the right things but she was almost 9 at the time and I think at the edge of the age bracket so she and I both knew we were suspending our disbelief. She was, however, impressed and delighted by the reference in the letter to her favourite cuddly toy cat.

She very much enjoyed the letter and wrote one back a day or two later as we were busy as it was during the holidays. She liked the stickers a lot, especially the ones with her name on it. She also loved the map although it was so big we do not really have space to display it. I am pleased to see you intend to add more country facts as she would enjoy those a lot. Online interaction would probably go down well but I was keen to keep it separate from screen time and a "something different " to encourage writing and art on paper so personally I would not be crazy about that aspect.

We were on holiday when the second letter arrived and so the gap between letters was especially wide. She was happy to find mail waiting for her on our return but as she returned to school three days later she has been too tired and busy with the new term to write back which is a shame but doesn't surprise me as I know she works very hard at school and is now in year 4. That said, I would have loved this as a child a d would have written back immediately. I always had penfriends to whom I would write long letters only to eventually receive a few lines back and I used to start my holiday diary before my parents had unpacked the car (yes, I should have been helping!).

I personally would not pay for the service but at that price I would recommend it to those I knew who really wanted to encourage their child's writing and/or had younger children, especially if there was lots more country facts, phrases a d pictures. In fact, we loved the geography aspects of it the most. I think 8 is too high an age boundary and would have put it at 7 at the most. My daughter is not a hugely sophisticated or streetwise child and played along but when teachers have tried this sort of thing at school a lot of her classmates were sadly and loudly the sceptical even when they were in year 3.

I would not be bothered by souvenirs from Banjo's travels i.e. they would not convince me to buy the package but my dd probably wouId love them.

Overall we did enjoy being part of the trial. Thank you, again.

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service? Its a really lovely idea, unique and I love the personalisation. Needs a few tweaks to make it perfect.
• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back? My ds7 loved it. He is just at the right age to read, understand and respond. He wrote lovely letters back. He particularly liked the stickers. Although had a lot of questions about the cat I had lunch with..and I'm not the best actress!
• What did you like most about the letters?The way it included personal details and things from home like the colour of our sofa, and how Banjo knew our cat - genius.
• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?Was only going to comment on subscription price then saw the revised amount.
• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?Yes I would, its a really nice idea. Id rather sign up for something interactive like this than a magazine subscription for my child.

I do think the revised cost is fair for 2 letters per month and I have registered my interest. However I second a previous post..if we sign up will the next letter pick up where we left off or start from the beginning again? That would really confuse matters for ds ( and mainly me who has to explain a way out of it!)

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
It was good. It’s a cute idea that can capture their imagination.

What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
Initially quite excited but there was too big a gap between the first and second letter, which the real service wouldn’t have, I guess.

They wrote back the first time but were not as interested after the second letter.

What did you like most about the letters?
My children lied the tjought of getting a present from Banjo’s travels.

Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
I think personalisation is very important. I have two children and both getting the exact same wording isn’t great. I would have preferred one letter with both their names.

Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

Yes, because I think the real service would be better than the trial we did.

Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription was £7.90/month, however as a result of your feedback, Tree Climber has decided to price this offering at £5.35. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

Yes, at the reduced cost I think it is a fair price.

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
In theory it seemed a good idea. Something to get DD engaged in reading/writing and learning about new places. Especially during the holidays. It was nicely presented too with a couple of bits of personalisation.

what did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
DD was really excited to get a letter off the postman as she never gets letters! She liked doing the stickers and she did write back to the first one but not the second. DD didn't really buy the idea a cat Wrote to her confirmed even more so when the second letter didn't relate at all to her initial reply and wit the wait the novelty had worn off a bit.

What did you like most about the letters?
For DD it was getting a letter off the postman. But also looking up about a new country. Plus the stickers.

Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
The gap between letters was too long for a 6 year old to keep engaged with the idea.
The 2nd letter not really being a good reply to DDs letter. We'd lost her at that point.
And DD didn't buy that the letter she wrote didn't go in the postbox.

Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
Probably not

Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription was £7.90/month, however as a result of your feedback, Tree Climber has decided to price this offering at £5.35. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
No. For a letter that DD lost interest in its very expensive for a poster and stickers that I could get from a pound shop. Although DD might be interested in letter writing it would be cheaper to buy some nice stationary and post some letters to her grandma!

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

Fairly satisfied - my son was excited to get something in the post and loved the fact that the cat knew our dog (even the name). We have two dogs though and we were only able to enter one name so it confused him a bit as to why one was left out. My son also didn't understand the cat's name - Banjo Robinson - it opened up a discussion but I agree the name could be better.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

My son wrote back to the first one, but he really struggles with writing so he started it and then asked me to do more of the writing because he wanted to say so much and was worried the cat wouldn't be able to read his handwriting.

• What did you like most about the letters?

Being able to personalise them was great but it was sort of limited and didn't really work as well as it could have. The letters were good at sparking my son's interest though and we got out maps and and atlas and all sorts to try to understand more about the cat's travels.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

It needs to be more flexible in how you can personalise these letters. I assume this would be as simple as the background coding for the letters as an automated thing but also understand that the more detailed you make it, the more likely it is to go wrong so I guess you're trying to find the right balance of this.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

Yes, for anyone that has kids that need that little extra push or spark this was a great way to get them interested and looking for the post. It's like a pen pal but without having to worry whether the other kid will write back!

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription was £7.90/month, however as a result of your feedback, Tree Climber has decided to price this offering at £5.35. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

Yes - very fair price. Most parents will spend this much if not more on magazines and things they buy in the shops. If they know they've paid for this upfront then they can refuse the extra stuff in shops and they know they're getting a better product anyway. And as a parent, having the subscription is great and saves time and thought.