A worm who loves Italian ices

A worm who loves pizza and Italian ices? That’s the premise (along with the “there’s no place like home” moral) of Carol Nicotra’s first book, “Old Man Max’s Cabbage Patch.

Nicotra, 54, of East Rockaway, said that she wanted to write the book for her father, Louis “Gino” Branchinelli, 80, the proprietor of Gino’s Pizzeria on West Park Avenue in Long Beach for 47 years.

“My father inspired me,” Nicotra said. “I used to write stories, and he would read them, and he would say, ‘you could do this.’” Branchinelli’s health has been failing lately, she said, “and I wanted to do something to honor my father.”

This is Nicotra’s first time publishing a book, and the proceeds will go to A Slice of Love, a charity that she created. From there, the money will be distributed to other charities, including the Lynbrook Community Chest, the Long Beach Christmas Angels, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Kids Plus One. “I wanted to do something good for the community, too,” she said.

“Old Man Max’s Cabbage Patch” is a children’s book about a worm who leaves his patch with a grasshopper to go out and “taste” the world — and it was love at first bite when he tasted Italian ices and pizza. But he was still hurting inside, and he realized that is was his heart that longed for home.

“My father believed that I could do this,” Nicotra said of her having her first book published. She lives in East Rockaway with her husband, Fred. She has three children: Danielle, Paul, and Julie Ann, and two grandchildren, Natalia and Craig. She will be signing her book at Gino’s Pizzeria, 16 West Park Ave., in Long Beach on Friday, Oct. 16 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. The book will be sold in 15 locations around Long Beach, Lynbrook, and East Rockaway and surrounding towns.