The books and the television show describe the adventures of Madeline's life in the late 1940s in France. Madeline is the smallest and youngest girl at her school. She is also the liveliest and the most popular. Madeline is not afraid of anything. She laughs at tigers in the zoo and taunts bullies. She even runs away to join a circus. She is also a very kind friend to the rest of the children at her school, and never loses her smile. Madeline attends a convent school in the heart of France with eleven other students. They leave the house at half past nine every morning in rain or shine. Miss Clavel is their teacher and a nun. The girls of her school mean more to her than anything. Miss Clavel is worried about Madeline because she is an orphan and has no family.