Soprano's Hit Man Writes For Kids

Actor Steven Schirripa is a familiar face to fans of the hit TV series "The Sopranos." But when he is not portraying the popular Bobby Bacala as one of Tony Soprano's most loyal men, he is busy writing.

In his third book, "Nicky Deuce: Welcome to the Family," he turns his attention to kids.

"It's a book about a family," Schirripa tells The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler. It's aimed at children ages 8 to 12.

The story is about a kid named Nicholas Borelli, who grows up in a New Jersey suburb but has to spend the summer with his grandmother in Benson Hurst, Brooklyn, N.Y., which is where Schirripa grew up.

"He may as well land on Mars because this is a whole other world to him," Schirripa says. In the story, Nicholas Borelli has only had tofu meatballs and whole-wheat pasta and was quickly introduced to his grandmother's Italian cooking. He also has his name changed to Nicky Deuce.

"Everybody needs a nickname," Schirripa says. In the book, he writes: "His uncle Frankie says, what do your friends call you? He said Nicholas. That's no good. It may sound right up there in carriage town, but it don't sound right in Brooklyn. From now you're Nicky or Nicky B. Or how about Nicky II? No, Nicky Deuce! That's a good name."

Nicky Deuce also gets into a little mischief, says Schirripa, who adds that he is not describing himself in the story.

"It's a compilation of people I've known," he says.

However, he admits: "I once tied a fork to a broom handle and grabbed my neighbor's steak and pulled it over the fence, and it was a great steak."

The reason he wrote the book, he says, is because he wanted to share what he does with his daughters, who are now 9 and 13 years old.

"They don't watch 'The Sopranos.' I don't allow them to watch it," he says, "I wanted something they could be proud of, something their friends could read. And, luckily, they liked it."

Click here to read an excerpt. "Nicky Deuce" is the first in a series.

As for his role in "The Sopranos," Schirripa says Bobby Bacala is still alive and kicking.

"We've been working since the end of April," he says, "and we are shooting 12 episodes, taking a little break, then going back and shooting eight more. We start in March."