I read this book somewhere between 1963 and 1966 when it was new. It was sold through an elementary school book fair. A girl wanders off and finds herself in a magical kingdom. There she is a princess. There’s a fight in a castle. Goblins enter the castle by turning themselves into doorknobs. At some point in the magical kingdom, she wanders up a hill and finds a dragon cave. The dragon turns out to be peaceful, although misunderstood, and she has tea with him and they become friends. He flies her around the kingdom and alights on the roof of the castle with her.
The book was paperback with a light blue cover.
This may be Shadow Castle by Marian Cockrell.
“In the middle of a deep forest is an enchanted valley and a castle where only shadows live, shadows of kings and queens who have waited for hundreds of years for the spell cast upon them to be broken. One day, a girl named Lucy follows a little dog through a tunnel into the valley and meets the mysterious red-haired Michael, who takes her into the shadow world to meet Prince Mika and his mortal wife Gloria, their children and their children’s children, and learn the magic that will lift the spell.”
I haven’t read this myself, but according to other online reviews, the doorknobs do have goblin faces on them and there is a dragon.
The above poster is correct – this is indeed Shadow Castle by Marian Cockrell. The request describes two of the linked stories in the book, which are told to Lucy (she is not a princess, though) by a fairy prince as he awaits the end of a spell lasting one thousand years and one week. The dragon’s name is Branstookah. The author’s daughter published an expanded version of this old Scholastic Book Club selection some years ago, and it’s still in print.
The book is definitely Shadow Castle. It was my favor book as a child and I just purchased it again.
THANK YOU!!! I have been wanting to purchase this childhood favorite for years, and happened to think of the goblin doorknob detail today. I can’t wait to reread and share this story with the children in my life. 🙂