Nesthäkchen is a Berlin doctor's daughter, Anne Marie Braun, a slim, golden blond, quintessential German girl.

Her class has fifty pupils, taught by an attractive, sympathetic woman named Miss Hering.

Anne Marie becomes friends with the neighbor's daughter, Margot Thielen, and two cousins, Marlene Ulrich and Ilse Hermann.

In the editions of the book prior to the 1980s, Anne Marie's mother explains to her daughter that orderliness and behavior are more important than good grades for a girl.

[4] However, Anne Marie persists in her untidiness until she forgets one day to give her canary Mätzchen (Antics) fresh water.