I use Pages on my iMac and find it rather easy to use. I won't go back to Microsoft Word. Pages can also open Word files (doc) and export out as a Word document if you need to to this. It's very intuitive.
Have a go on your Husbands iPad and if you find that you like the interface - buy it. It works better on the MacBook and iMac as you have a proper keyboard and mouse.
I have Pages, Keynote and Numbers as part of the Apple iWork software package.