Have you and your children heard of Mr Thorne? He’s a teacher here in the UK who’s created an online brand – Mr Thorne Does Phonics – with a website, YouTube channel and series of apps.

His online videos have been watched more than 10m times, and his latest app is Mr Thorne’s Phonics Myths & Legends, which was released for iPhone and iPad this month.

It’s aimed at slightly older kids – seven and up – who may be struggling with the phonics that many children start learning when they’re four or five. That said, it could still be enjoyed by those younger kids too.

As the name makes clear, there’s a fantasy setting for this new app too. “Earn points by completing the phonics games and discover dragons, sea serpents, mermaids and other mythical creatures along the way,” as the App Store listing puts it.

The app includes four phonics games testing sound recognition, word recognition, and relating phonemes to graphemes (and vice versa). Its structure matches the groups of phonics that children are taught in school.

Well, Mr Thorne should know all about that. We also think the mythical aspect may appeal to the slightly-older children who the app is aimed at – kids who might not want to use a traditional phonics app that feels ‘babyish’ (one of our seven year-old’s favourite words at the moment, so we can tell these things are keenly felt!)

Mr Thorne’s Phonics Myths & Legends costs £1.49 for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store.

Read about more phonics apps for kids on Apps Playground, and check out our 100 Best iPad Apps of 2013 e-book – £1.99 from Apple’s iBooks Store