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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I received a complimentary copy of this book and all opinions given are my own and not an endorsement of all author’s opinions.

Author Interview

1. Why did you want to become an author?

I wrote my first “children’s book” at the age of 5 when I first started learning how to write. It went something like this, “God made flowers. God made trees. God made the sun. God made me….” And so forth. I decorated the pages with my own drawings. I had completely forgotten about writing it, but my mom saved it in a baby book for me. So, I think the Lord planted the desire to write words about him from a very early age, and I feel very blessed that he has miraculously opened the doors for me to have books published by some amazing publishers!

3. What/Who inspired you to write on the main themes found in the 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 some kids coming to know 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!

6. What did your research process look like for this book?

I’ve been doing a lot of research on freedom of religion in public schools, and I have found some fantastic organization who are supporting families in public schools. Organizations like Decision Point are supporting students in public schools by giving them the tools to host outreach events to share the gospel with their peers, equipping them to engage in gospel conversations and invite people to meet Jesus, and provide on-the-ground resources like Bibles and gospel tracts. Teach for the Heart provides practical help & Biblical encouragement teachers need to shine the love of Christ in their classrooms. Christian Educators is a professional association of educators – supporting, connecting, and protecting Christians working in schools. Gateways to Better Education empowers parents with tools to navigate the public schools to help their children graduate with their faith and values intact, and they guide school leaders in establishing policies and practices that protect academic and religious freedom.Ultimately, families don’t need to go it alone as their child enters public school, so these organizations are making a huge impact, and I wrote If Jesus Came to My School to help launch kids into schools with a Christ-like mindset of reaching their schools for Christ.

10. Do you have a favorite drink or snack for when you’re writing?

Dr. Pepper is my weakness, and for years it was my “morning coffee.” While I drink more coffee than Dr. Pepper these days, when I really want to celebrate, I go back to the 23 flavors of the best soda in the world!

11. What message do you hope readers take away from your book?

I really hope that families will use this book to have conversations with their children about what it means to love their classmates as Jesus would. Jesus taught his disciples to love one another. He said, “Love one another. As I have loved you, you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (New International Version, 20011, John 13:34) If we can teach kids to love each other, to include those left out, to stand up bullies, to appreciate their teachers, then our nation’s schools could be transformed. Christian students should be known as the most loving people in the classroom, to make the world a better place, but ultimately so that hearts will be open to hearing the gospel or learning more about Jesus.

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!