Request #218

I read this in the 80s or early 90s: A girl is really struggling both at home and school. Perhaps her family is impoverished, struggling with addiction, etc. At school, she struggles academically and has no friends. Her one escape is a dollhouse located in her classroom. Her teacher has promised at the end of the year a deserving student will get to take the dollhouse home. The main character imagines it will be one of the popular, smart, or athletic kids. She is shocked, on the last day of school, to discover the teacher has chosen her. The teacher has a really beautiful sense of empathy and understanding for this struggling child.