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. He’s a fun likeable adventurous cat, my son related to ‘liking mishcheif’
2. my son was very happy to have received post addressed to him, especially in the current circumstances.
3. we did use the P.S. message, my son was happy to get a specific reply, although I did have to remind him that, it was an answer to what he had written previously
4. What stood out for me was the map, we haven’t really looked at geography much at home, the focus is spelling and reading usually, so it made a nice change to discuss places
5. If I was going to change anything, it would be to have a simpler recipe.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
   He is a fun character brightly coloured and attention grabbing.

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
   The letter arrived initially my son (6) was a bit unsure about what it was about. Once he got reading and looking at the world map he began to get more excited and engage with it

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?
   My son enjoyed the PS message as it made him feel that a Banjo has read his letter and knew about him.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
   It is a lovely map of the world which is good for learning where places are. It is written in a fun way which encouraged my son to read. The novelty of getting a letter addressed to him was high for my son.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?
   It would be good to have a bit more information about the places Banjo visits, pencils to colour in or crafts to do would add to the experience.

1)What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
he was fun and defiantly matched the package he was the best character for the job.
2) How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
He found it interesting that he received a letter from a character.
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.
4) What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
it was fun we liked the recipes and the stickers.
5) If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?
it could be a bit silly and a laugh.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? He was sweet, my DS didn't really engage with the initial story but loved the letters.
2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? He was extremely excited by it and couldn't wait to reply. He's normally reluctant to handwrite anything but he was really keen to do this and was so eager to get the next letter. I was a little surprised as he figured out the truth about Father Christmas at 4 1/2 had never believed in the Easter Bunny, tooth fairy etc but he was totally willing to suspend his disbelief for this and really enjoyed the whole experience.
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 think it was fantastic, he was so pleased to have a 2 way exchange with Banjo.
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? I'm surprised how much my DS enjoyed this but he really did, it also encouraged writing in a really natural way.
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? At full price it seems a little expensive but I'm certainly going to sign up to the discounted 3 months and then see if the engagement if still high

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
   Cute, engaging, eye catching with a memorable name.

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
   She just thought it was amazing, she really bought into the magic of it.

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?
   Yes for the first one but I missed the deadline for the 2nd. I quite liked it, made it more real.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
   It was nice to have a range of activities: reading, writing, colouring, awareness of the world as well as the fun element. Also, it's great at the moment. A little something nice and personal through the post to brighten up the day, and a bit of a travel the world through Banjo's adventures when we cant do it ourselves right now!

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?
   Maybe a feature where subscribers can send stuff via email and have it up kn a photo gallery on the website? Loved everything that came through the post though.

My two didn't really get the concept or engage with the character or letter. I didn't have a ps message but that might have helped. The place was too obscure and they had no interest in the activities. I think it was pitched a bit high for mine and we might try again in a year.

What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
First of all, Thank you so much for choosing us. I loved Banjo and enjoyed seeing my son’s delight as a letter arrived especially during lockdown. He loved writing his letter and putting it under the sofa though I suspect he was playing along and I didn’t realise it had to go back under sofa !

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? My son was surprised to receive the letter from Banjo Robinson and a bit confused but soon enjoyed it
3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? Great idea and helped personalise it even more
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? Old school paper mail is just lovely and the cute details like the mini envelope were lovely.
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? I would say my son was a tiny bit too old. Last year would have been perfect but he’s getting a bit cynical now and hardened by gaming. Much to my distress Otherwise its is a lovely Idea and very exciting activity for kids. and with a subscription would build into a lovely habit .

1. What did you think of the character Banjo Robinson's character? Cute, friendly and really captured my DD imagination.
2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? DD loved getting the letter, and exclaiming in delight at the personalized bits.
3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? Yes, we did and put it under the sofa. I liked this aspect. It encourages writing and really engaging with the whole process.
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? It's a mixture of all of that and I'd also say curiosity and intrigue. It really captured dd's imagination.
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? I don't think anything needs to change.

First of all - we didn't receive all the things it says we should have done in the welcome pack. No recipes, no country facts, no personalised stickers (well, one, but it was for the envelope). Maybe they will be in the second letter, which we only received a couple of days ago but haven't opened yet as DS has only just written his reply to the first. Also, we didn't receive our first letter for ages, so it was past the chance to add a personalised PS onto the second letter as I didn't know what this first one would say or what my son's response would be.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
   I liked him, I liked the story around him (although the one we had to read to our DC prior to receiving the letter was a bit long for my DS's attention span). He was colourful and silly.

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
   He was totally uninterested at first. The letter lay unopened for a few days, then I opened it for him and read him it and left the letter on the table for another few days. Then suddenly he was interested and within the space of one day we had the map up, he'd done the colouring and written a reply letter - this from a boy who has refused to write or pick up a pen since the schools closed! He really engaged with the idea of leaving the letter, I found him whispering to our two cats about it. I wasn't sure he wouldn't just go 'this is not real' but he did seem to get caught up with it.

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?
   I wrote a PS for the first letter - I really wan't sure what to put, it would have been useful to see a sample of the initial letter so you could see what would fit. Unfortunately I wasn't able to put a PS for the second letter as the deadline was very neat and we hadn't even had the first letter by that point. I don't know if that was because of the trial, or if that's always what happens.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
   Encouraging writing, engaging - it got my son excited which is a hard thing to do at the moment.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?
   Maybe a function to say when a letter has been written so they don't all come one after the other before the child has had time to engage? My son takes a while to warm up to things so I could see if we were signed up for the full thing that he might (as things currently stand) end up getting lots of letters before he has even replied to one. I think that would put him off writing anything, if he knew he would get the letters without having to making any input himself.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? I liked him, but his back story was a bit long and my daughter had lost interest in him by the time it reached the bit about him travelling.
2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? She was quite excited, but a bit nonchalant - i dont think she quite 'got' why he was writing to her so did not really get that it is personalised. She really liked the map and stickers - she found these much more interesting.
3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? Yes - she liked this, but it was at the end so it did not have the impact it could have.
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? The map is great and we googled the places and looked at the pictures. Something that ties the experiences he has in with her experience might be good - for example comparing the food directly with one she has at home, or that she could look for in a shop.
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? Make him a bit more relevant - despite the personalisation he feels very distant and there seems to be no good reason for him to be writing to my child - maybe ask her to do something, or ask something about what she likes doing. It's a shame to have the colouring picture on the back of the letter as she can;t keep it - it would be nice for her to stick it next to her map on the wall.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
   Great fun. My daughter loves cats, so was immediately interested.

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
   She was excited to receive it but saw the postman deliver, so we didn't go with the under the sofa delivery/collection. She also asked why have stamps if not being posted...

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?
   Yes. This is what made it super special. She enjoyed the content of Banjo's letter but began to drift off towards the end, so the personalised element brought her back. It also gave her a starting point for her replies.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
   Both. Provided a great starting point to learn about a country, and she completed every element including recipe

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?
   Include some more activities - more colouring puzzles, or competitions so it takes up more of her time

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

My daughter likes cats so it was an exciting thing for her to get mail from a cat. However, she didn't believe it was an actual cat and she is only 5. She knew someone was pretending to be a cat. Don't think this will fly with older kids.

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

She loved it. She was excited to see what was in the letter and learned a new thing, that you can take blink pictures. The stickers were a good touch.

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 but it didn't seem to add the full message for some reason. Don't know if there is a word limit to it or if we are not supposed to add paragraphs. Might be good to make it clear.

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

It is an interesting concept. Especially for kids who like to write letters. My child loved getting mail and finding out what was in it. Learning about another country was a plus and it was fun to add stickers to the chart. All the materials are of good quality and it's not cheap flimsy paper.

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

The price is too much. I don't think I will be able to afford to pay for a monthly subscription considering the cost. Also would be good to be able to add a long PS message. More information about the country they are talking about would be good too. We would have liked to know more about the weather there, the foods and best places to visit. Without it, it just seems like an ordinary letter.

One more thing I would like to add is that as others have said, ps message at the end looses it's impact. May be add it as a paragraph in the beginning as a reply to kids letter ?

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? My son quite liked the character, he liked that he was adventurous
2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? He was excited to receive 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 we didn’t
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? My sons favourite part was the world map, he’s really enjoyed finding where countries are, he’s spent a lot of time with the map
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? Nothing

I had to come back to say my daughter wrote back to Banjo and was so excited to receive a letter back! I found a badge she’s made which says ‘Banjo you and me friends’! I think I’m going to have to sign up, she’s going to be upset if he doesn’t write back!

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? Really good idea, cute and friendly-looking.
2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? He was really excited and could not wait to get stuck in and see what it's all about.
3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? A great feature to have lots of fun with it.
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? How detailed it was and how you could use it as world reference in relation to the Map of World.
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? To add more exotic locations on the map, not just the normal run of the mill countries that everybody knows about e.g Trinidad, Mauritius, Morroco, Switzerland, Guyana, Brazil, etc. This would expand the children's knowledge even further as they like to be challenged.

What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
My daughter found it funny, sweet and friendly.

How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
She loves receiving mail so it was a hit.

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 thought it was a good feature.

What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
All the above, plus my dd is really into geography, maps and flags. The recipe card was a great addition. Plus who doesn't like stickers and colouring?

If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?
I wouldn't really as I think it's great but I think my 8 year old is a bit old for the character itself.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
   I thought he was fun and magical.

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
   She was really excited when she opened the pack and i explained what it was and who it was from. She was confused at first and asked alot of questions wanting to know who he was, how he knew to write to her, how he posted the letter, why he was telling her things.

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature?
   I did write a p.s and i thought it was the best part of the letter as it felt most personal.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
   The magic was the best part of it for us.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?
   For my 6 year old the letters were too long and wordy and she lost interest. I think for a younger child the letter should be simplified and made more interesting. She found the second letter quite boring but liked that he had written.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? We aren't a cat family, but she loved him.
2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? My daughter was delighted to get most, and even more so when it was personalised. Straight away she laid everything out on the floor
3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? Yes, loved the personalisation.
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? Loved the educational side with the map
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? More activities, maybe a puzzle. Maybe modified by age group. A seperate letter or email to parent explaining what to do.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
   Really cute and good fun.

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
   Very excited! He loved having post addressed to him and really enjoyed opening up the letter and reading the contents.

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? No.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
   It was lovely and colourful. We really enjoyed the recipe card and making the biscuits, which were delicious.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? I think it would be nice to know where Banjo is heading next.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? - it was really cute! lots of hard words for my (now 6 yo) to read but I liked that. She's bilingual and easily put off by long and unknown words so Banjo's letter was a fun way to at least try.

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? It was really nice. We have lots of neighbours' cats visiting our garden, and we were observing them all and thinking which one is Banjo's friend. Leaving the letter outside (under a stone in the garden for example) would be more believable for my child. She knows we don't let the random cats is!

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? I wasn't sure about the PS, especially not knowing what was going to be in the next letter from Banjo. I added too many random questions with no link to the rest of the letter, so that could be improved so the letter flows and is still personalised to each child.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? It was educational benefits for me, including the really cool map and info about various countries. For me 6 yo it was pretty stickers and the stationery for replying back. She liked reading and interacting with the pack, but writing back was a struggle for her (she dislikes it in general).

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? - Various level of difficulty depending on the child. I imagine my child when she's 7 will fly through the letter from Banjo, understand it and enjoy it, whilst now she stumbles a bit, and I need to explain the meaning of words and sentences. The writing back pad is tiny and hard to use for little fingers.

Feedback has already been left, but just thought I'll share the drawing and letter our son composed.

The drawing depicts his dream holiday.

🔅🔆🏖️🌴🌊🔅🔆 Golden sands and royal blue ocean, birds soaring in the distance. 🔅🔆🏖️🌴🌊🔅🔆

It can only be a dream holiday, as he explains, "No one can go anywhere" due to the lockdown.

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
   My son thought he was fun but he did not seem to realise that Banjo was a cat as he kept asking 'who is Banjo?'

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? My son loved receiving some mail addressed to him as he hardly gets mail. He was very excited and that was so nice to see. We loved opening the letter and reading it together. His older brother also enjoyed reading the letter with him and said he would have liked it if he was younger.

3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? This was great as you could tailor the letter to each child and add bits of info about the child. I added that Banjo had seen my son on TV when they read out his birthday card recently on CBeebies which he was surprised about!

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
   My son really liked the map and we have stuck it by his bed. That was probably his favourite bit. He liked writing the first reply but was more reluctant the second time but I think he would be more engaged with it all a lot more if he was 6 or 7 years old.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? Whilst it is good to expand children's vocabulary, maybe the second letter could have been more simplified for younger children as he did not know a lot of the words (we looked up what a loris in the dictionary as I was not sure myself!)

Just to add a big thanks to Mumsnet and Banjo for giving us the opportunity to review this product! It came at a great time during lockdown - some nice post for my son and something different to do. I think the map is great and I'm sure it will be up on the wall for a long time. We will use the stickers as well. Thank you!

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character? We all love Banjo’s personality, he’s that kind of guy cat that you can always count on to hear a good story/adventure! He’s traveling all around the world and that’s something I wish to do one day when I’ll have the time and money. He’s approachable, adventurous and fun to be around!
2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo? My DD absolutely loved the idea! She was very excited to receive her letter! She wasn’t sure how can a cat speak or write (that’s where I stepped in!).She loved the personalised bits and this what made her believe that Banjo does exist. Her younger brother believed straight away!
3. Did you write a PS message in your child’s letter(s)? If so, what did you think of this feature? Yes and I loved it! It was the only point we could refer to her younger brother (and maybe softer the upcoming meltdown!). It helped us get in some more personal details which made the experience more realistic to DD! I didn’t realise there was a limit of how many letters I can I fit in and unfortunately some of my message was cut!
4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else? The fact that it is personal and that it encourages the child to write back (with the stamps and envelopes). I also liked the fact that it teaches children about the world/countries and different cultures!
5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be? I’d make the letters a bit shorter and easier to read. Just to keep it simple and easy to understand with more explanation about the countries in a way that young children can relate to!

1. What did you think of Banjo Robinson, the character?
   i thought he was very likeable and cute.
   My DS describes Banjo as 'cute, cheeky clever and fun'. :)

2. How was your child’s experience of receiving the personalised letter from Banjo?
   My DS loved it! I had not told him it was coming, so it was a complete surprise. He loved receiving a letter, writing the reply, waiting for the cats to come and collect the letters by 'cat post' from under the sofa. He really liked the map, putting on the stickers, learning about the countries (we actually did our own further research as he wanted to know more about them!) and doing some of the suggested activities included with 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, I did.I thought it was a lovely way of engaging with the child personally and encouraging them to write about their likes, family and recent personal events.

4. What stood out for you with Banjo Robinson? Delight and fun, educational benefits or anything else?
   it was colourful, engaging and fun. My DS really enjoyed doing all the activities and it was nice to see him so enthusiastic about Banjo's adventures, learning about the different countries and keen to write his replies.

5. If you could change one thing about Banjo Robinson, what would it be?
   Get rid of the plastic packaging. I was disappointed to find the first letter to arrive in plastic and found it unnecessary. A large paper envelope would be better.