The Marvels by Brian Selznick

Mr. Selznicks draws and writes two separate stories, one in 1766 and then another one in 1990, but brings them beautifully together.
Joseph Jervis (in 1990) runs away from his boarding school in England and tries to find his eccentric Uncle Albert in Spitalfields.  There, he discovers an unique house, spellbinding stories and a sense of belonging.
Although Mr. Selznick does not rub it in the reader's face, Uncle Albert said he fell in love with Billy and called him his "beloved".  I would not recommend this book for elementary readers because of this relationship.
Aspects of the story are based on a true events and Dennis Severs, the creator of a three-dimensional novel, in Spitalfields.
Warnings/Points to discuss: Albert and Billy's homosexual relationship;  two characters die from AIDS but not much is said about the disease which may cause confusion and lots of questions.