A brand new bitesize history show has landed on YouTube and it’s full of enthusiasm, fun facts and fascinating insights into how we used to live. It’s a brilliant resource for kids, teachers and parents who want to learn all about the history of the most everyday objects that we take for granted.

‘What Did They Do Before…?’ is hosted by Iszi Lawrence and Caroline Lawrence, two authors of historical fiction for kids who are fantastic communicators and have a clear passion for sharing their love of history. Both of them are keen to inspire others. One is fascinated by Dinosaurs, Victorian England and World War II. The other is captivated by the world of ancient Greece and Rome. So, what happens when they come together (along with a chicken named Gallina) to discuss what people did before things like toilet paper, pockets and dentists? The show is loads of fun for kids and grownups, too!

Iszi Lawrence is from England and loves to make people laugh. She is a stand-up comic, podcaster and history presenter who lives with a poet and two cats and has many passions including dinosaurs, martial arts, vintage airplanes and the ancient Assyrians. Most recently she has branched out into writing historical fiction for middle-grade kids with her debut novel The Unstoppable Letty Pegg.

Caroline Lawrence is from California and became obsessed with the world of Greece and Rome after reading a historical novel on her gap year. She studied Latin, Ancient Greek and Biblical Hebrew in the UK before becoming a primary school teacher and then an author of historical fiction for kids. She’s written loads of brilliant books and you can read my review of her newest one here.

I’ve learnt loads of new things from the first two episodes and can’t wait to hear more. So far they’ve covered what we did before cars and toilet paper so, if you want to know what people did before all those great things like chocolate, underpants and cats then subscribe here: whatdidtheydobefore.com

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