Let's Explore Kanji: A Picture Tour of Japanese Characters by Bret Mayer is a kanji book that aims to teach the first 100 kanji that Japanese elementary school students learn. The full-page explanations and cute art style make the whole experience feel accessible and will hopefully help new learners get past that common kanji phobia.
The book is divided into two chapters: the first teaches one kanji per page, and the second serves up kanji lists grouped into categories. How you study is up to you, but Mayer lays out his personal recommendation in the beginning. If you need help for your ears, every book comes with a free audiobook download that speaks each kanji along with its included example sentence.
In chapter one, every kanji gets its own page, complete with readings, meaning, pronunciation, stroke-order diagram, alternate writing styles, and example sentences. All the sentences use target-kanji vocab that demonstrate both on'yomi and kun'yomi readings, and are paired with a cute illustration. The final section of each page is reserved for extra usage/culture notes or fun facts to take your kanji learning a bit outside the box.
Near the end of the book, you hit chapter 2, which teaches kanji meanings, pronunciation, and kun'yomi readings grouped into eight lists: body, animals, numbers, colors, sushi, family, seasons, and directions. Depending on your learning style, it can be helpful to study kanji/vocab in categories like this.
Beginners who want to learn the most useful kanji first and prefer traditional learning methods will get the most out of this book. And the friendly design and illustrations might even help them gain a love for kanji early on too!