A nice book for beginners in sewing is "Sewing Machine Basics: A Step-by-Step Course for First-Time Stitchers" by Jane Bolsover. I took it out of my local library and I am pretty happy with it.

The book has great illustrations and comes with patterns to pratice (starting with a simple pillow and working your way up to a blouse). It was a great refresher for me. I have forgotten how to do some hem types. Also, something I was never good at, it shows when and where it is good to baste your sewing. I usually just sew and then have to undo a lot of it... :(