Which two or three books do you think are the best tin whistle self-instruction tutorials 
for beginners with little to no music experience?
And why do you think that of each?
You only need one. 
And although I can’t compare it to any other books, I learned the whistle with Bill Ochs book The Clarke Tin Whistle (it was designed to work with a Clarke, but it will work with any whistle in the key of D). It assumes you don’t know how to read sheet music, and teaches you in the process, which I assume is what you mean by “little to no music experience”. It starts at the bottom, and can be used to teach ornamentation as well (when one gets that far in whistling abilities).
One thing that any good book should have (and Bill Ochs book does) is to have a CD along with it so you have some ides what a particular note should sound like. Plus Bill Ochs book has sheet music (and recordings on the CD) of some 80+ tunes in the back.
The Tutor for the Feadog Stain (if you can get your hands on one) is exceptional. Intended for music reading from the beginning on a high D whistle, published in 1975.
http://comhaltasarchive.ie/search?q=person_id%3A4995#/documents/815
Also, for pure tunes and advice, The Dance Music of Willie Clancy by Pat Mitchell is excellent - but it won’t teach you to read music like the former book will. It’s out of print but you can find them.
http://www.amazon.com/Dance-Music-Willie-Clancy/dp/0946005729
For detailed playing instructions you may look into Grey Larson’s Tin Whistle Toolbox.
http://www.greylarsen.com/store/books.php
Finally, you should get a copy of the first Mary Bergin recording called ‘Feadoga Stain’ and listen closely to the genius of her playing.
http://www.amazon.com/Feadoga-Stain-Mary-Bergin/dp/B000000E5Z
Here are a couple of resources that I learned from. The reasons I would recommend these are because.
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The Cd has more than just examples. It is like getting private lessons from a real Irish musician.
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Cathal teaches you how to play in different keys on a D whistle with tunes in those keys.
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Every tune that he teaches is worth learning.
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The Cd’s have musical accompaniment so that you can practice.
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Covers the basics and some ornamentation.
The green book here http://www.amazon.com/Cathal-McConnell-Teaches-Pennywhistle-Hands-/dp/0793562546/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1295158014&sr=8-4
is sort of a condensed version of the yellow book and cd set here..
http://www.amazon.com/Irish-Pennywhistle-Instructional-Folk-Instrmt/dp/193253783X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295156102&sr=8-1-catcorr
I would buy the green book first, the yellow book just has more tunes in it.
Both the Bill Ochs and the Cathal McConnell books are excellent (I should know, I have them both). Have you looked at the Ryan Duns videos on youtube.com? Or Whistlethis.com? The 'net has a lot of free resources for the beginner, feel free to take advantage of them.
Good stuff…this is why I like this forum!
Yes, thanks for all the great resources!
+1 “The Clarke Tin Whistle by Bill Ochs” Videos go to youtube search for Father Ryan Dunn. Good Luck!
www.tuxedomusic.com
It’s Duns, actually.
This topic seems to come up pretty regularly. Isn’t it about time for a sticky on something like “resources for new whistlers”?
Best wishes.
Steve
Thanks gang. It comes so highly recommended that I guess I’ll add it.
As a newcomer to all this part of the fun (for me anyway) is hunting through the various resources to see what might work for me.
I guess it’s a living example of the path being as much fun as the destination?! 
Learning the whistle can be helped by written/recorded tutorials but the best thing to do is get a teacher. Keep in mind that in addition to learning the whistle you also have to learn the music so immerse yourself in as many recordings as you can (I say this assuming you may not have access to in-person tuition or live traditional music sources). Seriously, the listening/immersion is a very important component that is too often overlooked.
Does anyone know if “How to Play the Penny Whistle - Landor, Gina/ Cleaver, Phil” is any good?
The question then becomes, Good for whom? What level are you at?
Not if the photo on the front cover is any indicator.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Play-Penny-Whistle-Tin/dp/086001780X
No, seriously, I know nothing about the book.
well I am an extreme begginer 
, I’m still having trouble blowing the right amount of air in to get a good sound 
OK. Two words; Childrens books. Or nearly so. Not being sarcastic. Very good for extream beginners.
In particular; You Can Teach Yourself Tin Whistle.
You also might want to consider Tinwhistle for Beginners or Childrens Tinwhistle Method.
I get alot of my stuff from TheWhistleShop.com and they have that. Plus a LOT of great instructional information for the beginner you can print out right off their site.
If you have the talent to blow through those books, you’ve really lost nothing and you’ve established a solid, if simple, foundation. If you, like me, do not have the innate talent, then you have some decent instructional materials at the basic level.
I have a copy of that book here somewhere. It came with a whistle purchase long ago. I have loaned it to a couple adults who expressed some interest in the learning whistle but wanted to try things on their own before sitting with a teacher. Results were mixed but I wouldn’t blame that on the book. Motivation is always the key. This is a very fundamental book. It could help some who have no background in music at all get started. It would leave others looking for more details and tunes. It offers no hint of an approach for traditional Irish music or its style but not everyone picks up a whistle wanting to play Irish music. As an example I remember that the book suggests playing triplets by using the tuh-kah-tuh method. The book is comprised first of an illustrated “How To” section which as I said is basic stuff. Then there is some exposition of reading music notation. After that it gets into teaching basic folk melodies like “Skip to My Lou”, Yankee Doodle", etc. The tunes in the first half of the book are tabbed out with a picture of a whistle below each note. The rest of the tunes use a shorthand tab.
Personally, I am not a fan. I hope that is of some help to you.
Feadoggie
Whistler plays 2nd octave vented D.
Photog: “OK, now pull your top finger way off the the side and curl it.”
Player: “Uh, why?”
Photog: “More interesting, better composition. We can left justify the cover text around the finger.”
Player: “But, but … I’d never do that. There are only a few notes where the top finger comes off the whistle. And then you want it right over the hole so it can come back down quickly.”
Photog: “Hey, who’s the photographer here? I’m getting paid by the hour.”
Player: “But, but … If people see that the cover is wrong, maybe they’ll think that the rest of the book is wrong, too.”
Photog: “Yeah, whatever. Now stand on one leg like that Jethro Tull guy. That looks cool. Say, who did your manicure?”