Exactly my thoughts. Main question here is does she have time to dedicate, and even more importantly disposable cash.
It isn't easy to know due to the reason Xela stated. Is she averse to risk? Is she thorough or does she prefer to take short cuts? Is she humble or is she proud? Generally speaking I'd direct her to find out first and foremost what drives prices. Study various markets. Study participants who trade these individual markets. How do the participants moving the most money trade? What do they focus on? When I first started I focused on price itself and indicators. When I look back I am very embarrassed at my ignorance then.
Assuming she does have the time and capital, she shouldn't waste her time until she's done the above. No point playing a game if you don't know the rules of the game.
What I say below is my opinion ONLY and should not be construed as trading advice. Each trader has to build their own road. My suggestion is: Spring for al brooks video course. Study it for 2 or 3 years over and over. Practice for a year on a live trading simulator. Then, and only then perhaps, consider trading with money. Finally, buy brooks books. All four books and spend the next few years (after the previous years of studying the videos) devouring them as she is trading (should she decide to in fact trade live after the videos and a year of practice). The books will make much more sense after listening to the videos over and over. This is my opinion.
It's quite a bit of my opinion, too ... if she's the right sort of person to benefit from them. For the right people, the approach you outline is a solid and excellent one, for sure. My only reservation is that some will perhaps find it off-puttingly difficult, as I nearly did myself, to be honest ... though you definitely have the order right, to minimize the risk of that happening - which I didn't, at the time (I don't think the videos were available back then). It's perhaps arguable that the people who get put off aren't really going to become traders anyway - I just don't know whether that's true. I'm criticising myself and not you, but I don't really know what this means: it seems to me that whatever it means, it's probably going to depend on acquiring quite a bit of knowledge and experience first, which kind of takes us back to the original question?
Begin what? Trading? Investing? Minding her own IRA? You should begin by finding out 1) where she is, and 2) where she thinks she is. Then, you might query her for 3) where she might wish to go. From a lot of experience, you're likely to find out that 1) she isn't where she thinks she is, and that 2) where she thought she was is no longer the goal, and that 3) where she might wish to go now is completely up in the air -- and your throwing books, videos, and trading platforms at her will mess her up but good. The game you're entering is Financial Advisor, and truly and hugely, Step #1 is finding out where she's at. (AND, it's easy!) The rest will fall out rather plainly after that.