Chinese for dummies book is good:
Amazon.com: Chinese For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback)) (9780764583759): Wendy Abraham: Books

Or you could try this:
Learning Chinese characters: a revolutionary new way to learn and remember the 800 most basic chinese characters [Book]

BBC Languages Chinese:
BBC - Languages - Chinese: All you need to start learning Chinese

This website has lots of books for Chinese on:
Hanban Book Store

And a little book for writing characters in is a good idea, but I couldn't find a link
Good Luck! 好运