well i can recommend the books that i used for my classes when i first started learning. i use the Japanese for young people series. there are 3 main books and each one has a workbook that goes along with each lesson. though using the main books may be a bit hard with out a teacher a person could use the workbooks for self teaching. the first workbook covers hiragana and katakana how to write them and say them while workbook two and three start teaching kanji. by the third book a person can learn 160 basic kanji. I started using the books when i was 15 and they were my favorite textbooks that i have used so far. anyone can buy any of the books off of amazon.com. i cant remember if there was a audio that went along with them though sorry.

Thanks for telling about the books - i'll check them out =) it's recognising the symbols that i'm having trouble with, but i wanted a challenge lol

Ordered some books on learning Japanese today, Hope to let you know if they're any good after they arrive =) one is a kids one - first 1000 words in Japanese (might help with the reading side of things)and the other is a CD/book which had good reviews...we'll have to see though...

Has anyone heard of James heisig?
He has a few books called "Remembering the kanji"(series)
and "Remembering the kana"
If anyone has heard of these books or have them could you please tell me what they are like and if you would reccomend them? Thankyou! ^.^

I have heard of them but haven't used them, so i can't comment on them personally. But I have heard great things about Heisig's books and is always recommended when trying to learn Kanji or Kana (but particularly Kanji since it's harder to learn)

i hope it helps you =D if you just started learning then i wish you luck! at first its a bit hard to get used to but trust me after a while it becomes very easy...well kanji will always have its difficult times but it really isnt to bad ^^