SOLVED!: from 50's or 60's - girl grows up on farm w/ dad & draws puppies? [s]

[Leann]

It's about this girl who lives with her dad (on a farm?) and she has a crush on this boy (Dick?) She desperately wants to be popular, but isn't. She loves to draw, and they get these puppies on the farm that are so young that she and her dad have to bottle feed them - take turns getting up in the middle of the night, etc. She starts drawing the pups and then gets obsessed with it, spending all her time drawing them, and in not caring about being popular, starts to become so. She takes the drawings to a publisher to see if they'll buy them from her...but they say no. I think there's a dance with the boy, too.

That's all I can remember. I want to say her name starts with a "J", but I can't remember.

This was one of my favorite books when I was a teenager and I gave it away in a fit after my parents' divorce and I regret it so much! I've looked everywhere - googled a billion combinations of words, etc and can't find it!

Any help would be so much appreciated!

[Wendy]

Going on Sixteen by Betty Cavanna, I think.

[Leann]

THANK YOU!!!! You are officially my hero. I've been looking for this for years!