Read what Mumsnet users and their children thought of Banjo Robinson’s personalised pen pal experience

[LucyBMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the Mumsnetters who tested Banjo Robinson’s personalised pen pal experience with their children aged 5 to 8. Banjo Robinson is a magical, globetrotting CAT who sends proper, paper post (and creative activities!) to children twice a month, from exciting destinations around the world!

At the same time as giving feedback on the thread below, Banjo Robinson testers also completed a survey. Results from the survey are now in and:

• 88% said they were satisfied with the service, and
• 89% would recommend to a friend or family member

Find out more or subscribe for your child here.

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, two sketch pages to colour, a reply page to draw and write their response, a reply envelope with postage stamp stickers and a recipe cards. Banjo then wrote each child a follow up letter detailing his next stop in his travels and including more goodies.

Here’s what Banjo Robinson has to say: “Banjo Robinson is a magical, globetrotting CAT who sends proper, paper post (and creative activities!) to children aged 5 to 8, twice a month, from exciting destinations around the world! Children can write back to Banjo and leave their replies under the sofa for overnight collection by 'Cat Mail’. Our website allows parents to add a paragraph to the end of the next letter their child receives (PS message), so that Banjo can answer their questions, reference their recent achievements, or simply send love and encouragement.

Each delivery includes a personalised letter from Banjo (now written by children’s author, Anna Kemp!), reply stationery, a colouring-in activity, personalised stickers, country facts, and a recipe from each country. Children also receive a big, beautiful map of the world poster with their first letter - they can add country stickers to this as they follow along with Banjo’s world tour!"

Testers, please answer the following questions as well as completing the short feedback survey which we have emailed to you:

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?

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).

Non-testers, if you’re reading this feedback and think that your child would like to receive letters from Banjo, you can get 50% off a 3 month subscription using the code BANJOLOVESMN at the checkout, on the Banjo Robinson website. This includes a big, beautiful map of the world to follow along with Banjo on his travels and six deliveries!

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

Insight Terms and Conditions apply

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?

I liked the character, my daughter thought the cat was a she so maybe a more unisex or male/female choice of character would be good. Banjo seemed friendly and cute.

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?

*She was thrilled to recieved 'mysterious post' and loved opening up all the bits in the first package. She was confused however that a cat had written to her as cats can'twrite (we explained it was a special cat) she was then suspicious of which cat had told Banjo about her as she didn't know any cats. I think maybe this part should be customisable to suit the child if they don't have a pet. She liked listening to/reading the letter but didnt really want to write back, this could be the circumstances as she'd been writing for school work earlier.

For the second letter she was so excited when it arrived and once she had looked at the contents she left it and went back to what she was playing with without reading the letter. She did happily read it later but the content wasn't really suitable for her she didn't understand about the pplaceeor the 'strange words' e.g. local place names etc. She didn't understand the joke and was just confused about what was happening. We said she could write back to Banjo and she hasn't looked at the stuff again and hasn't wanted to write back. *

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?

I liked this feature in theory, in practice I didnt know what to say/how to phrase the first letter as I had no idea what it would contain, it would be helpful to get a preview for this. Again I had to write the P.S. for the second letter before the first had arrived (understand obviously that mail is slower atm) so I couldn't tailor it to her reaction to the first letter which would have been better.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?

I think it's a fun way to learn about different places if your child engages with it.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?

I agree with other participants that 'posting' the letter under the sofa and then recieving a reply through the letterbox is confusing. My daughter is old enough to know letters go in the post box and couldn't understand how a cat would get in to take the letter away.

1.Banjo was an appealing character we immediately related to and felt we could be friendly with.2.She was so excited and eager to read the latter and to write back, She thought it was all great fun
3.We did write a PS and thought it all added to the fun and kept us engaged for longer
4.Banjo was fun and we loved him, we have two cats who arent really very playful and so we enjoyed is antics. We liked the map and being able to discuss different countries, languages, and we even did a jigsaw of the world as a result
5.We wouldnt really change anything, but we do like colourings, mazes and word search quizzes

What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
I thought Banjo was quite fun, but not very Cat-like. His personality didn’t come through very strongly in the letters.

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
   My daughter (5 years old) absolutely loved receiving the letters, stickers etc. She loved doing the activities.

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?
   The PS feature worked really well with my daughter. It really added to the magic that Banjo know lots about her.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
   The fun element was more important than educational for my 5 year old.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?
   The disparity between the fun/magic and the age that the educational element was aimed at. My son, who is 7, loved the geography and cultural bits, but dismissed all of the ‘leave the letter under the sofa’ stuff. My 5 year old daughter, loved the magic but didn’t get much from the educational bit. We would have liked more photos too.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? Very cute.

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? She was pleased, especially loved the stickers. She was a bit puzzled as to how he’d got her details.

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? Yes, I did. I liked it but again, she just looked puzzled.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? Particularly liked the educational bits.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? I think it’s expensive to be honest. Lovely idea but pricey.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? Lively character
2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? Happy to see his name on post
3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? Loved it
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? Like the map sent with it
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? May be a small story book abt the country Bonjo is visiting could be included

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?

He is quite fun and I think my child fully believed in him! I like that he isn’t like the other cats.

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?

She was really excited and felt really special getting a letter just for her.

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?

I didn’t use this feature because it seemed quite narrow and we don’t have any pets or cats that we know of!

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?

I love the maps and the little package. I think that it’s a nice way to get your children to want to write something.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be

I don’t necessarily think everything has to be in the post. I think making it a range of things like maybe a postcard letter pack and then maybe an email or an online video perhaps?

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
   Was ok i suppose, quite cute. We read the story prior to reading the letter & my 6yr old was still confused about who'd wrote to him...so obviously the character hadnt stood out to him from the story..

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
   He absolutely loved recieving a letter addressed to him and looking at all the different things inside. He loved the stickers. I think he was in amazement that they knew his name etc and we do have a black & white cat on our street so he totally bought the idea

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?
   I did for the first letter - my kid didnt notice the difference in the way it was written but an older kid might. The first letter arrived after the cut off for personalising the second one (i blame covid-19) so that was a shame as it does add abit extra to the experience

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
   I think the personalisation aspect is an excellent idea.
   
   I thought the things mentioned in the letters were very educational and interesting and was on google reading long after my son had wandered off to do something else.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?
   I think the letters need to be abit easier to read for younger children
   Also maybe ask more questions or be be more guided replies as my son didnt write back for several days which turned out to be because he wasnt sure how to do a letter and what to say

Overall i did like it and will be signing up, im thakful we were chosen for this trial. It took afew dyas but did eventually encourage my son to do abit of writing in reply and the look o his face taking all the bits and bobs out of an envelope addressed to him was magic

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? He is fun, interesting and talks to the children in a non patronising encouraging way. Who wouldn’t like a magical cat with a secret backpack!
2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? Super excited, they felt special, intrigued, interested in his journey. They also interviewed most of the local cats to see if they knew Banjo.
3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? My daughters eyes widened as this detail was read out, it was so lovely to see her feel known and seen.
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? Delight and fun- anticipation of the next letter and investment in the character.
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? It would be great if we could use an actual post box - less pressure on parents to not forget (the tooth fairy is hard enough) and also exercise and more of an occasion going to the post box.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
   We really liked him, my son engaged with his story straight away

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
   Excitement when recieving a letter addressed to him through the door. Interested to see what was inside the envelope.

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?
   Yes, I think this is what my son enjoyed most. It certainly made Banjo more realistic but mysterious.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
   Educational benefits for us, my son has just started reading and writing independently. This gave him a purpose to write a letter.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?
   Perhaps making the letter content a little simpler for the younger children. My son is five and wasn't keen on reading the whole letter by himself.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?

I thought he was really fun and playful! We loved him!

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?

My child was reluctant and disbelieving at first but then I read the website story and then he started to get really excited!

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?

Yes and it was the best thing about it! It made it believable and I wish I had written more!

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?

Educational aspects and the fun of it. It made my child feel special he had been chosen to be Banjos friend.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?

An info sheet to read about each country

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
   The Character was bright and clear and suitable for my 5yo

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
   She loved getting her own post and listening to me read the letter to her. She was very excited that banjo knew her name

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?
   Yes we used this feature, it gave the letter a more personal touch.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
   The map is a great idea, my dd loved pointing out all of the different countries and asking me where they were. We loved the educational side of this too as well as being fun and exciting.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?
   A little more basic information on the different countries, but to be honest it did give us something to do when we researched them!

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? Cute - we liked him, my children are always interested in cats in the street so they could relate to him.
2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? Too short to judge, we had the initial letter and one follow up- to be able to judge better it needs to be for a longer period.
3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? No- unfortunately due to the situation we hadn’t received our initial letter by the deadline for writing the PS.
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? It allowed the children to be creative in their responses and allow them the freedom to choose what to write or draw without it being too fixed and educational in feeling.
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? To be able to trial it for longer and for the letter to be shorter so that you get children could read it themselves. Perhaps one letter for the child and another for the parent - explaining it in more detail.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? It wouldn't have made a difference what animal Banjo was although we get wild cats at the back of our house which look like the description in the letter. That added to the fun.
2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? He was intrigued about getting his own letter and kept asking if it was from a real cat.
3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? I did and I like this feature to make it more real and personal.
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? I probably liked the idea more than my son but he did his best hand writing on the return letter so it clearly had some positive impact!
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? Expensive and hard to keep child engaged for any length of time. We did only receive one letter prior to giving feedback though so not sure going forward.

Typically having left my feedback saying my daughter wasn't interested, she then sat herself down and wrote to Banjo, was excited when the letter disappeared and is watching the post for another one! So perhaps it will get her writing after all....

What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
I thought he was cute, very easy animal to picture and relate to

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
   She could not have been more excited. She was delighted to get a letter, entranced by the concept of the travelling cat and his adventures. Totally caught up in the magic of it. Sat down straight away to write back.

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?
   I did, and it made it completely real to her. She couldn't wait to tell everyone he knew what she was reading.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
   The magic of it, getting letters from a place she hadnt heard of, a cat who knew what colour her sofa was and how there was a local cat post. She's pored over the map second guessing the next one. Shes told everyone about it and is keeping an eye on the post. It's a really lovely experience

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?

One thing...theres no Ireland Scotland or Wales, and shes queried that heavily

1)What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? My 7 year old daughter thought Banjo was fun, but we're dog people, so she would have preferred to get a letter from a cute little dog.
2) How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? She was very excited to get a letter through the post that was addressed to her and loved it when it mentioned her name and where she lived in the letter.
3) Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? No. My daughter wrote the letter herself and wanted to seal it...so no chance for me!
4) What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? It was a fun activity and my daughter and her older brother enjoyed looking at the map together, along with using the stickers. It also came as a welcome surprise in the midst of being stuck at home. Coincidentally, my daughter's Literacy home-schoolwork for the following week was all about the writing letters - layout, formal & informal letters, so this tied in nicely.
5) If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? My daughter is 7, so she didn't believe in putting it under the sofa, or really believe a cat had sent her a letter - I don't really think many 7 or 8 year olds would go along with it. It was a fun activity, but I don't think it would sustain the interest of my daughter, so I wouldn't sign up for a subscription. Thanks for letting us take part.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? I thought Banjo was quite fun. DD was thrilled with Banjo being a cat and the idea of him writing to her from around the world.
2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? DD was waiting for the post most days after the first one arrived and badgered to know when her next one was coming. She really enjoyed gleaning information from the letters, I thought it was great for her reading comprehension as this is something she needs more practise in.
3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? I didn't. Partly because I forgot but mainly because I couldn't think of anything to write that DD would engage with and that would be answered in the formulaic letter.
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? DD adores the colourful map and it is being used in our current home learning set up.
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? DD wanted to post her letter in the post box. She couldn't see how the postie would come and get the letter from underneath the sofa as we put our in the red post box and the postman delivers to our letter box. It just didn't make any sense to her and she really struggled with that aspect.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?

Children (5 and 3) were quite engaged by the story and character.

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?

Loved the novelty of getting post. Particularly enjoyed the personalised elements on the letter

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?

Yes, although it was tricky without knowing how the letter would be.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? It was a good novelty for a confident reader. I didn’t think it would hold their attention for many letters. They loved the map, although it was a shame that Wales and Ireland(?) weren’t on there if this is UK based. I’d have liked to have had more control over timing. The second letter came too quickly.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
   I liked the Character a lot. I thought it was interesting. I think if there was an introductory video or something like in Youtube it would make it more interesting and believable.

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
   My boy was very very excited. His first response was that he can't be real. How can he write to me?

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?
   This is a wonderful feature and this is what makes Banjo believable. However, this service TOTALLY depends on the timely arrival of the letter. In our case, we had already filled the two P.S. message even before any of the letters had arrived. This meant that my boy did not receive any response to the questions he had written/asked Banjo in his first letter who had it less believable.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
   To me the best thing was that my boy was checking mail and was writing to someone.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?
   Add country info to the first letter and additional info about visiting country.

Other comments:
I think content-wise the service is lacking. The first letter only contained map and sticker. It did not contain any information about which county Banjo was visiting. Although my boy was excited with the letter, I would say the first letter to me as a parent was a major letdown. Anyone paying for this service would think about canceling at this point. I think the second letter was better. If this was timed perfectly with the P.S. (which wasn't in our case), this would make it a much better and believable service.
I also think an introductory video of Banjo would make it very interesting.

1- Banjo seems like a cute and relatable character and it helps that we have friends with a pet with the same name.
2- DS was so excited to receive a letter just for him. No one could work out how it had

happened and kept trying to guess.
3- I wrote the ps messages in response to
what ds had said in his letter and added
some other details in. This was his favourite part. He came to ask me what colour the sofa is ( he’s colour blind) and was amazed
that Banjo knew.

4- The personalised aspect was what stood out for us , as a child in a larger family it’s great for ds ( the youngest) to have something just for him.
5- not sure about the sofa thing but ds didn’t question it

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?

We found him funny

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?

She looks forward to receiving a new letter, though she doesn't seem that bothered about reading the letters after the first one.

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?

It's quite useful to personalise the letters.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?

It encourages my daughter to write to Banjo, though she isn't too bad at writing anyway.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?

More stickers for the map

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? He was a cute character and my daughter enjoyed the idea of a cat
2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? She loved getting the letter through the post and the details about our lives, town etc. She liked all the things in the pack.
3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? I liked it but it didn't work with our second letter, even though we filled it in on time, and we only had one day turnaround. This was a shame but probably down to the postal delays due to Covid-19.
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? Nicely designed with interesting details in each pack such as stickers and the colouring. The recipe was a bit strange!
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? Maybe slightly shorter or easier letters - my 7 year old is a confident reader but found them quite long with difficult words to read herself.

Thanks for the trial though, we enjoyed it and filled some enjoyable time of home schooling!

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?

My DS liked that he was a cat, and spoke to his cat about him, and liked the star on his face. He liked drawing him and found him easy to copy on paper. I liked that he made mistakes and sometimes got into trouble, as this made him feel more believable as a character

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?

My DS and is always thrilled to get post, so he was very excited as he only ever gets birthday cards. He enjoyed the fact that the letter referred to him personally and it kept him entertained whilst reading. He particularly loved the map, and definitely learned about the world. I think the think about the posting under the sofa is a super idea and makes the whole experience more magical.

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?

Yes, I think this is what my son enjoyed most. It certainly made Banjo more realistic and my DS would ask questions about Banjo and wanted to find out more about the country he was in.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?

Educational benefits for us, my son has just started reading and writing independently, using imagination, being able to pick up one of the activities, and save others for later, and keeping some on the fridge for use again.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?

A map poster - full of colour and information with stickers to put on to track Banjo, where he has been, with Banjo and facts about the country.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? i thought was absolty great so creative and colourful
2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? my daughter absolutely loved it she love the personal touch and receiving post from a new friend.
3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? i thought was great feature it helped me get my daughter back on track with her school work
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? All of the above not only education and exciting but fun and engaging my daughter is so interested in either country which has been a delight showing her on the map she can now locate places easily.
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? i wouldn't change anything i love it and will be signing up :)

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
   First of all, Thank you so much for choosing us. I loved Banjo Robinson and enjoyed to help my son to write letter.He loved the story about the cat and was so surprised to receive letter.My son loved colouring in activities and thought that writing to cat was so exciting. Cat was cute! So brave and adventurous!

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
   My son was surprised to receive letter from Banjo Robinson. He couldn't believe that cat from the story wrote him so exciting letter and wanted to be his friends!

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?
   I think it is brilliant! Dominik was so shocked that Banjo knows our cat Tigger.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
   Colourful design, with lovely details as small envelope and postmark stickers. I loved that there were colours in activities and draw your own picture.It was pleasure to receive so lovely letter in the post.
   letter is easy to read and is bright and colourful.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?
   I think it would be great that there would be an option for parents to choose Banjo Robinson character. Banjo Robinson could be cat, dog, parrot, snail etc.
   Otherwise its is lovely and exciting activity for kids. as to receive and towait for the letter is always so thrilling.