SOLVED. Children's chapter book. Dolls (and toys?) are rented or borrowed from a store/ business. If you take care of the doll properly for a specific time period, you get to keep the doll. Read around late 1980s in U.S. Spoiler ahead. [s]

[Daisy]

It was a children's chapter book, I believe. What I remember is that there was a store/business where people could rent/borrow toys? other things? but definitely dolls, and if you took care of a doll properly for X number of weeks/months, you would get to keep that doll. Proper caretaking involved bringing the doll back on time each time, I think? not sure what else.

Spoiler: The book ended when one little girl who had NOT followed all the rules for doll caretaking ended up "winning" her doll anyway, because of the rough life (?) she'd had....

[Daisy]

Any love on this one? I would love to find this. I remember being fascinated at the idea that a kid could earn a doll by taking good care of it...

[Kris]

Daisy, can you describe the main character(s)? and favorite doll?

What's the location?

[Daisy]

The MC was a little girl, but I don't remember how old she was or any physical details. Young enough to still like dolls, and old enough to walk to the store alone. (I think.) So seven or eight?

I have a vague sense that it was set in a city, but I'm not too sure about that either. And I don't have any memory of what the doll was like. My strongest memory is of the little girl coming to the store and....saying she'd failed? or maybe she hadn't been in for a long time so she had failed automatically? and the woman at the store taking the doll off the shelf and putting it in her arms.

[Rainbowheart]

Open the Door and See All the People aka The Toy House Dolls

[Daisy]

oh my god, you are my FAVORITE HUMAN.

[Rainbowheart]

Haha, no problem at all!

Glad to help out. :)