About the Book

Book: If Jesus Came to My School Author: April Graney Genre: Children’s Picture Book Release Date: June 10, 2025

In this beautifully illustrated picture book, a young girl learns how Jesus’s love can shine at school through her compassion, kindness, and inclusion. In this whimsical tale, a young girl imagines what it would be like if Jesus visited her school as a boy. She would show Jesus around her classroom, introduce her friends and teachers, listen to story time, and eat lunch together! But Jesus wouldn’t stop at learning and sitting in class. He’d invite the lonely to join in on games and find a way to love and get along with everyone. Soon the young girl realizes that even though Jesus doesn’t attend her school, he can live through her. Through rhyming text and vibrant illustrations, children will be inspired to make a difference in their schools through their actions. Because as they treat each other right and classes become families, Jesus truly will be in their school.

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About the Author

April Graney is a teacher at Cookson Hills, a children’s home and school for at-risk students in Oklahoma. She is the author of The Marvelous Maker: A Creation and Redemption Parable and the ECPA Christian Book Award finalist The Marvelous Mud House: A Story of Finding Fullness and Joy. A graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, April loves studying and teaching the Bible. Her greatest joy has been raising five children with her husband Tom in their crazy, loud, happy house at New Life Ranch, a summer camp and retreat center where they have served for over twenty years.

More from April

When my husband, Tom, was in high school, a classmate leaned over and casually asked, “Hey, would you like to go to church with me sometime?” Tom wasn’t opposed to church. He’d just never been invited before. This invitation got him to a place where he began hearing the gospel. Finally, at a youth rally, my future husband tearfully repented of his sins and trusted in Jesus’ death on the cross for his salvation. He walked down to the center of that arena, with hundreds of others who had done the same. I’m incredibly thankful for his classmate who had the courage at school to ask his friend to come to church, something which changed the entire trajectory of his life. Our nation’s schools are filled with kids who need to hear the gospel. After encountering the woman at the well, Jesus told his disciples in John 4:35, “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” I believe this could be said of our schools today. There are nearly 60 million school age children in the United States. The Barna Group reports that nearly half of all public educators are practicing Christians, and 86 percent of Christian families send their children to public school. Christians are in public schools. I hope to support and equip them, by providing tools for them to teach their children about Jesus, the gospel, and his love. I hope to help families to see the fertile soil of our nation’s schools, and be faithful to shine the light and love of Jesus in our schools. They are ripe for harvest. When school children encounter the love of Jesus, they become places where kindness, love and respect can flourish. With the divisiveness in our nation, it’s so important to teach our children how to treat each other with kindness, inclusion and understanding. We can teach our children that everyone is created and cherished by God. We can help reduce bullying in schools when children celebrate their differences and stand up for each other. Our schools would be places of impact for the individual and the school community. These are the truths that I hoped to communicate in If Jesus Came to My School, and I hope that readers will take these lessons to heart and make a difference in the world!

Interview with the Author

Do you read books in this genre? If so, who do you like to read?

Yes! Some of my favorite children’s book authors are Mary Ann Hoberman (Seven Silly Eaters), Amy Parker (Night Night books), Valerie Ellis (Let’s Go Bible Adventures), Crystal Bowman (Who God Wants Me to Be), and Tama Fortner (God, I Feel Sad). I also love Dr. Seuss, Sandra Boynton, and Ken Taylor children’s Bibles.

If you could travel back in time, what time period would you go to?

This might sound silly, but I would go back 10-15 years ago when my kids were still little and living at home. While I don’t miss sleepless nights, and a constantly “lived in” house, I sure miss them!

What is one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you?

People always seem surprised when I tell them that I have a Bible degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. I had audited a class with my husband, who was a student, and decided I LOVED it! So, we rearranged our schedules so that I could attend as well. People are also surprised that I sleep with one eye open! I had a lazy eyelid as a child and had surgery to shorten it. But it won’t close all the way when I’m asleep. It makes for a great sleepover prank! Not that I’ve been invited to a sleepover in a while!

What inspired you to write this book?

I teach at a school that is part of a children’s home for kids at-risk, and I see the challenges of how kids treat each other daily. Years ago, one of my students who didn’t fit in very well was being bullied. It took a lot of effort to create a sense of belonging between him and the other boys in the class. But praise the Lord, with some team building activities, an after-school club, and talking about Jesus, I saw the huge difference it made in this boy’s life. When some of my children attended public school, we saw the school as a mission field where they could have an impact by sharing about Jesus with their classmates and loving them the way that Jesus would. I wanted to encourage families who have kids in school to also share the light and love of Jesus in their classrooms!

Share with me a few of your favorite things.

I love embroidered flowers, Dr. Pepper, Butterfingers, laughing until my sides hurt, walking my golden retriever, Ruby, having coffee with friends, video talking with my adult kids who live in Kansas, Louisiana, Guatemala, and soon to be Chicago, watching the sunset with my husband in the back yard of the fixer upper house we’ve been working on for 2 years now, and dreaming of the someday when we’ll get to move in!