Faith, Hope and Hilarity
by Dick Van Dyke
My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Humor
Kind of a religious “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” I found this old book at a thrift store and thought I’d give it a try, since I’ve always liked Dick Van Dyke. It’s basically a collection of funny things kids think and say about various religious matters. Though the heavy focus is on Christianity/Catholicism, there are a few bits about kids in the Jewish faith as well. Van Dyke inserts his own thoughts about religion and its importance here and there, which I don’t really know how to reconcile with what he says in his much-more-recent book, Keep Moving, that basically no one can really know the truth about God. He seems a lot more certain about the truth about God in this book. Though I question some of the theology in the book. Note, most of it is information “presented” by kids and not meant to present theology, but there are still some clear statements made. For example, the one that really baffled me, is the statement that a kid got a question wrong on a quiz when she answered that God created light first. Since He did create light first, I’m not sure how that could have been a wrong answer.
Van Dyke’s personal faith aside, the book suffers from being out of date. Some references made are lost on me, due to not being around until over a decade after it was published (1970), and I found myself wishing he’d give just a little bit of context now and then. The topics of the stories are organized a little weirdly, and transitions are awkward. The illustrations provide a little extra humor now and then, but they’re pretty cartoonish and not necessarily needed in a book for adults. Overall, it’s a quick, amusing read, but nothing outstanding or hilarious and didn’t age well.
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If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!
A Journey of Words 
I LOVE this book. Gave it to my mom for Mother’s Day in 1973 and I still pull it off the shelf every so often for a chuckle. In fact I only came across your review because I was thinking of buying another copy for a grief group (for comic relief). Disclosre: I’m originally from Van Dyke’s home town (Danville, IL) where we celebrate our Native Son.
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I’ve long been a fan of Dick Van Dyke, and it was definitely fun overall to read this book. I have a feeling folks a generation or so above me would appreciate it a lot more though.
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