i always tell people for beginners, ALWAYS GO NIKON, they have helpful systems and footnotes INSIDE THE CAMERA, press the question mark button and it will tell you what function your currently on.
if you feel the camera is limiting you can always upgrade to a better camera, but always always go for the cheap nikon ones, either a d3000 or d5000, you;ll be glad you saved money
Canon is ruthless, there is no graphic interface, and its all just numbers and dials, very intimidating for a newbie.