Reviewed by
Mary
The feline penpal Banjo Robinson has sent another update from his world travels!
This time he’s visiting Easter Island.
As always the letter has a splendid chatty and informative style.
The letters cleverly combine some fascinating facts about his destination with lovely anecdotes about creatures he meets along the way.
Children reading the stories pick up information about each place without even realising it! And of course there are lots of amusing moments as well.
As you can see, not only is the content fun, printed as if typed on an old fashioned typewriter, even the paper itself contains little doodles and decorations that refer to the letter!
There is also a very clever option for parents to add a PS, which is a wonderful way of allowing Banjo to recognize something personal to the child, such as exams, or family news. This is as well as the letter being addressed directly to the child.
When you subscribe, you also add a few extra details about the recipient, such as pets, if any, favorite food, and of course where they live. This means that little personal touches are dropped into the letters from time to time, which make it even more engaging to read.
Of course, with a penpal you don’t just receive letters, you send them as well!
Enclosed is special writing paper and envelope for the child to write back. There’s also space on the back for pictures, and in the letters Banjo provides prompts and ideas for the child to write and draw.
The reply is mailed under the sofa, to be removed by the local cat to send on to Banjo. Of course parents sneak the letter out, and then have a lovely keepsake of their child’s replies.
Along with the paper, you get a wonderful colouring sheet, again with pictures and doodles that relate to Banjo’s latest adventures.
There’s also a sheet of personalised stickers, including stamps for the reply.
The paw print sticker is for the map that came with the first letter, where you can keep track of Banjo’s journey.
By Evelyn 
