This Week’s App News: 23-27 April

Image from Google Play

• DMV Genius is a brand-new app that helps aspiring drivers prepare for the permit test. If you’ve got a teenager at home who’s itching to get into the driver’s seat, this could be a useful way to make sure they know what they’re doing before you actually get to the DMV. Free, but to use the state-specific permit practice tests you’ll need to make a $2.99 in-app purchase. For iOS.
• Free Books, a useful app that gives you access to almost 30,000 out-of-copyright books, has just migrated over to Windows Phone (it’s been available on iTunes since December). It costs $1.99 but it does give you an astonishing number of books – seems like a fair price!
• Archie Comics are still around, apparently, and now they’re available on Android devices. Comics are an excellent way to get reluctant readers excited about reading, and touchscreen tablets and phones are the perfect platforms. Grab it on Google Play.
• If you’re a fan of “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed”, the delightful children’s book by Eileen Christelow, you may be interested in the latest book collection from Oceanhouse Media. It’s five e-books in one package ($11.99), and featured the little monkeys not only jumping on the bed but also shopping, baking a birthday cake, washing a car and sitting in a tree. iOS
• Check back next week for our interview with homeschooler/blogger extraordinaire, Penelope Trunk, who makes us think harder than we want to (but in a good way)!

By Nell Wulfhart