Nciku: A Great (Free) Online Bilingual Mandarin & English Resource

I use Nciku's site all the time! You can use the dictionary functions, hear the Chinese character, see it drawn, and see various uses. The best thing is that you can use your mouse to draw a character -- you do not even need to draw it well -- and options for that character come up, so you can find it easily, and then look up the translation.

My best recommendation for learning to read Chinese? Use a computer! Mac users have it easy, Windows users need to install the language pack (it is on your installation disk). Typing is really easy, so it helps you remember the characters. This goes doubly for kids, too!