Reviewed by
Mary
Even if we can’t travel much right now, your child can follow the adventures of Banjo the Travelling Cat!
Banjo tours the world and writes your child a personalized letter every two weeks from his far-fling destinations. Most recently he has been partying in Brazil!
His letters are such fun. First, they are chatty and engaging, and mix little stories with descriptions and snippets of information about the country he is visiting. The letters themselves have wonderful illustrations, which look spectacular! Every letter has different illustrations too, which fit in with the letter contents.
When you subscribe you include a few things about the recipient, including things like pets and favourite foods. These details give the letters and even more personalized touch, which of course children love to see!
Parents can also write a special PS to be added to the letter, which is a great way to pass on through Banjo things like congratulations or reminders.
Part of the premise of the letters is that the child’s replies are collected by a neighborhood cat to be sent along to Banjo, so these cats often hear gossip about what’s going on in a child’s life!
For the child’s reply, everything needed is included, writing paper, envelope, and stickers and stamps.
The stamps are specially for ‘cat mail’, and the letters are posted under the sofa for later collection. Of course this means that the parents can sneak out the reply and put it away safely as a lovely souvenir of the child’s writing.
There are also stickers for the world map that is sent with the first letter, so children can follow along with Banjo’s travels.
There’s also a couple of bonus items, a colouring sheet that references events from the letter, a little city map activity sheet, and a recipe card for a local recipe.
Banjo sends two letters a month, which is the perfect frequency. It costs the bargain price of £5 a month, which is incredibly good value.
Banjo Robinson letters promote literacy and creativity, and it also encourages the pleasingly low-tech method of communication, letter-writing! Now so much is done electronically, getting real letters through the mail is something really special, and of course children love getting post of their very own. Hopefully this will set up some good habits for the future!
By Evelyn 
