2007 Award Winning Toys
By Amy Carney Bevins
Walking down the aisle of the toy store can be overwhelming. Bright
colors, creative packaging, adorable characters and playful music all
compete for your attention and your toy purchasing dollars. So how do
you get past all of the hype to find toys with long term playing power?
Ones that your child will turn to over and over again. Ones that grow
with your child. Ones that teach, delight, soothe, excite and become
family favorites.
One way is to choose award winning toys. These have been tested, played
with and examined by organizations whose job it is to evaluate and rate
toys. Groups like the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio and Dr. Toy give awards to
toys and games that meet criteria for standing out among their peers.
Each one is tested for quality, safety, playability, value and most of
all FUN!
For more holiday toy ideas, check out November's “Great Toys to Go”
article online in the FAMILY Magazine article archives and be sure to
look for the upcoming February article on great games for family game
night.
*Please note, most of the toy and game companies listed below have
completed thorough lead tests on their products and certify that they
are lead-free. However, FAMILY™ Magazine does not conduct independent
testing. If you have questions about a specific product, please be sure
to check with the company directly or with the US Consumer Product
Safety Commission (www.cpsc.gov).
Active Play
Toys that will get your child moving, jumping, laughing, and running
(Infant) Lamaze Chime Garden
A garden filled with sounds and songs. Babies and parents will delight
in this wonderfully interactive and engaging toy. Baby’s touch activates
the sounds from a single note to a full song depending on the play mode.
The flowers each feature bright smiles and fabric petals, some with
crinkly sounds. The cheerful flower faces light up, helping to reinforce
cause and effect. The light up feature also makes this a fabulous toy
for those long night-time drives back from grandma’s house. The chimes
and music are a pleasure to listen to over and over again.
Approximate Price - $24.99
www.learningcurve.com/lamaze
Awards - Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award, NAPPA Gold Award
(Infant, Preschool) Soft Sorting Pals
An elephant, a puppy, a lion and a fish all fit cozily inside this soft
plush sorting box. Each animal has a unique shape and a distinct sound.
The monkey on the top doubles as a handle, and a mirror on the bottom
engages little ones in peek-a-boo fun. Your baby will love playtime with
the animals. Your toddler will spend hours matching each animal with its
correct “doorway” into the box. You will know they are learning and
growing while exploring and playing with the Soft Sorting Pals.
Approximate Price - $25 www.intplay.com
Awards - iParenting Media Award
(Infant, Preschool, elementary) Parents® Bee Bop Band
Strike up the band! This charming insect-themed instrument set will have
kids chirping like crickets in no time. Ant bells, a caterpillar
tambourine, bee maracas, centipede drumsticks, and a ladybug xylophone
all snuggle inside the durable see-through drum that features a carry
handle and strap. The bright colors, engaging shapes and musical sounds
will draw your little ones like bees to honey while they groove to the
beat of their own music.
Approximate Price - $24.95
Awards – AblePlay-Rated™ for children with disabilities (4-5 stars),
Great American Toy Test Winner
(Preschool, elementary) Smart Cycle™
Smart Cycle™ is a great way to get kids moving and learning at the same
time. On those days when you just can’t get outdoors or need some active
indoor playtime, kids can pedal their way to fun. Smart Cycle™ plugs
into your TV and takes kids on a learning adventure while they work up a
sweat. Kids can visit Math Mountain, Shape Lake, Number Fields, Letter
Creek and more with the included software. Other software titles such as
SpongeBob™, Dora the Explorer™ and Discover the Dinosaurs are available
separately.
Approximate Price - $99
www.fisher-price.com
Awards – eToys Hot Holiday Toy List, NAPPA Award Winner, Oppenheim Toy
Portfolio Platinum Award
(Preschool, elementary) Par 3 Mini Golf
Have your own miniature golf course right at home! The Par 3 Mini Golf
Course features 21 molded pieces that snap together to create a
customized course indoors or out. The set also comes with two putters,
two balls and three flags. Can you avoid the obstacles (a clown’s mouth,
windmill and spinner) to reach the green for a hole-in-one? Get out your
putter and give it a try.
Approximate Price - $39.99 www.step2.com
Awards – Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award
(preschool, elementary) 100 Hoops
100 Hoops scores a slam dunk as an all-around award-winning toy. Kids
love shooting hoops with the cheering crowd, flashing lights and the
scorekeeping sports announcer. Parents love that kids learn to count by
1’s, 2’s, 5’s and 10’s in English or Spanish both forwards and
backwards. 100 Hoops easily attaches to chair backs, doorknobs or walls.
It also has a volume control, which is a definite bonus.
Approximate Price - $24.99
www.leapfrog.com
Awards – Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award, Dr. Toy’s Best Smart
Play/Smart Toy Winner, the National Parenting Center Seal of Approval
(preschool, elementary, preteen) KikaFlik
If you are looking for a toy that can be used indoors and outdoors,
alone or together, by kids from 3 to 103, that develops coordination,
timing and ball skills, does not use batteries, is environmentally
friendly, does not contain lead paint and most of all is FUN, then
KikaFlik is the toy for you! Using a simple lever technique, Kikaflick
launches soft foam balls into the air with just a simple stomp. Once you
have mastered the technique, try launching other kinds of balls or
hitting the balls with a bat or racket. The possibilities are endless,
and so is the fun and learning.
Approximate Price - $29.99
www.kikaflik.com
Awards - Over 10 awards including Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s/Best
Active/Best Vacation Product Winner, Parents Choice Award and the
National Parenting Center Seal of Approval
(Preschool, elementary) Explorer Ops™ Binoculars
Can you spot a squirrel at the top of the tree, a blue car in the
distance, or a friend walking down the street? With the Explorer Ops™
Binoculars you can. These durable, kid-sized binoculars bring everything
into focus with six times magnification. The award-winning binoculars
come with a carrying case and wrist strap, so they’re always ready for
your next adventure. Pair the Explorer Ops™ Binoculars with Wild
Planet’s Survival Watch or Pathfinder Tool and you are ready for
backyard exploration, a forest excursion or a secret mission.
Approximate Price - $9.95
www.wildplanet.com
Awards – Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award
(Preschool, elementary, preteen, teens/adults) Ogo Super Sports Disk
If you’ve ever told the kids, “Oh Go Outside,” then this is the perfect
gift for your family. The innovative, versatile foam rings have elastic
“trampoline” centers that can launch balls up to 150 feet. Or get
creative. Use them as frisbees. Try them with volleyball, tennis,
baseball, or even water balloons. They float, making them an excellent
choice for fun at the beach or pool. With the Super Sports Disks, not
only will the kids beg to go outside, you’ll want to go with them. The
Super Sport Disks come in 12 and 18 inch sizes, and an inflatable
version is available for pack-and-go play.
Approximate Price - $29.99-39.98
www.ogosport.com
Awards - Oppenheim Platinum Award, Parents Choice Award, TD Monthly
Innovative Toy award
(elementary, preteen, teens/adults) Hyper Dash™
It’s running, racing, thinking, laughing fun! Hyper Dash™ will get you
on your feet while it challenges your mind. Using the electronic
“tagger” equipped with RFID technology, players race to tag targets that
can be placed side-by-side or as far apart as a football field. Games
can be played inside or out; alone, in pairs or in teams and
competitively or cooperatively. Hyper Dash™ teaches colors, numbers,
following directions, and even throws in a few math facts to keep you on
your toes. The upbeat music and encouraging cheers, multiple play modes
and levels, and cool technology make this a game kids will want to play
over and over again.
Approximate Price - $24.95
www.wildplanet.com
Awards – Numerous awards including: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award,
The National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, NAPPA Award Winner,
iParenting Media Award, Parents Choice Award, Canadian Toy Testing
Council Highest Rating
(elementary, preteen, teens/adults) beeboo™ Big Bubble Mix Kit
Imagine creating a soap bubble big enough to stand in! With the Guinness
World Record winning beeboo™ Big Bubble Mix kit you can make truly
“extreme” bubbles. This bubble solution has been used by Cirque du
Soleil, as well as by bubble artists and entertainers around the world.
A starter kit comes with one large bubble wand and enough bubble
solution to make a gallon of bubble-filled fun. Smaller wands are
available for younger children. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio describes it as
"Hands down one of our new favorite products of the year!"
Approximate Price - $14.95 and up
www.worldslargestbubble.com
Awards – Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award, Guinness World Record
for World’s Largest Bubble
(elementary, preteen, teens/adults) Meteor Rocket
Ready…Set… Blast off. The Meteor Rocket has the perfect chemistry for
outdoor kid fun. Launch the rocket over 100 feet using simple household
ingredients - baking soda and vinegar. The secret is in the patented
fueling module, which provides an enormous burst of power. Vary the
proportions of ingredients to soar to new heights. Go “solar gourmet”
with balsamic vinegar for an extra power kick. “The Meteor Rocket is a
science experience kids will never forget.”
Approximate Price - $20
www.scientificexplorer.com
Awards – ASTRA Top Holiday Choice, Dr. Toy’s Top 100 Vacation
Products/100 Best Children’s Holiday Products, Parent's Choice Award
Creative Play
Toys that will foster imagination, music, pretend play, art, and
creativity
(Infant) Sing Along Spider
This adorable, not-so-itsy spider is filled with textures, colors,
sounds and activities for your baby to explore. Press one leg to hear
“The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Press the others to hear fun crinkle sounds.
From the detachable sun shaped spinner and soft book to the flip-up
mirror and “baby” pull down spider that wiggles, you and your baby will
have hours of sing and play along fun!
Approximate Price - $19.99
www.playskool.com
Awards – Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award
(Infant, Preschool, elementary) Funky Artist
Color their world! Paint and kids naturally go together. Here’s a
wonderful way to introduce your budding artist to texture and color. The
Funky Artist Set comes with three unique brushes (think string mop,
cloth flower, and soft carwash brush), and each one creates a different
texture. Four paint dishes and three bottles of paint are also included.
Approximate Price - $24.99
www.alextoys.us
Awards – Dr. Toy's Smart Play Smart Toy Award, Oppenheim Special Needs
Award, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, iParenting Media Award
(Infant, Preschool, elementary) Jumbo Jungle Animals
Close your eyes. Can you hear the lion roar, the elephant trumpet and
the giraffe …well whatever giraffes do? With these Jumbo Jungle Animals,
your child can imagine she’s exploring the deepest, darkest jungle,
hunting on the savannah, playing with the animals at the zoo or visiting
wherever her imagination leads. The oversized elephant, giraffe, lion,
tiger and gorilla are all made of durable, non-toxic, dishwasher safe
plastic for hours of animal play. Pair them with the other jumbo animal
sets such as pets, farm animals or ocean animals and you can have an
animal kingdom full of fun!
Approximate Price - $25.99
www.learningresources.com
Awards - Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award
(Preschool, elementary) The Very Books Block Puzzle
Eric Carle books are perennial children’s favorites. The Very Books
Block Puzzle brings delightful characters from five of his “Very” books
into a block puzzle format. The Very Quiet Cricket, The Very Hungry
Caterpillar, The Very Lonely Firefly, The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, and
The Very Busy Spider and a friendly sun will entertain your child while
teaching spatial relations, problem solving and pattern skills. The
nine, 2-inch cubes can also be used as building blocks and come in a
sturdy box with a sliding drawer.
Approximate Price - $13 www.galison.com
Awards - Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award; iParenting Media Award
(Preschool, elementary) Tin Tea Set
Any time is tea time with this adorable, vintage-style tea set. Children
love tea parties. This colorful child-sized tea set is perfect because
it is durable, washable and virtually unbreakable. Open the sturdy
carrying case and discover 16 charming pieces – a teapot, four
cups/saucers/plates and a serving tray all packed and ready for a
teatime adventure. Whether it’s a Teddy Bear Tea, a Lemonade Tea or
Afternoon Tea in the Garden, your child will love playing hostess with
this tea set.
Approximate Price - $24.99
www.alextoys.us
Awards – Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award
(Preschool, elementary) Guidecraft Unit Blocks
Build a castle, a stable, a rocket or a lion. Your imagination is the
only limit to what you can create. Oppenhiem Toy Portfolio says, “Our #1
must-have toy for preschoolers is a set of unit blocks.” These unit
blocks are created to an exceptionally high standard - finely sanded
with rounded edges, resist dents and dings, are splinter-free and are
guaranteed for life. Each set has a variety of shapes, and other items
are available to expand play options such as arches and tunnels,
colorful rainbow blocks, traffic signs, people and animals. These blocks
are crafted to last for generations of play.
Approximate Price - $75 and up
www.guidecraft.com
Awards – Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award
(Preschool, elementary, preteen) Telescoping Crayon Tower™
Watch someone when you hand them a new box of crayons. They look excited
animated, or nostalgic. The Telescoping Crayon Tower™ opens a new world
of color, art and organization. The clear plastic storage container is
filled with 150 crayons (including metallic and glitter colors). Pull up
the center to create a colorful 3-tiered tower with a built-in
sharpener. The Telescoping Mini-Marker Tower also offers an artist’s
palette of color choices. A wonderful gift for the artist in your life!
Approximate Price - $15 www.crayola.com
Awards – Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award
(elementary) DragonBonz
Create your own “anatomically incorrect” dragon with the 55 colorful,
interlocking construction pieces awaiting adventure in the DragonBonz
kit. Moveable jaws, rattling tails, pose-able eyes, glittery wings – all
the parts you need to build your own fearsome or friendly dragons. With
the specially designed hooks and included monofilament, you can even
watch your dragon creations “fly.” The DragonBonz set is compatible with
other sets in the BONZ line-up including GloBonz, Bonz Deluxe and
SeaBonz.
Approximate Price - $34.00
www.curioustoys.com
Awards - Bonz awards include: iParenting Media Award, Parents’ Choice
Award
Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products, NAPPA Award Winner, ASTRA Top
Toy Pick
(elementary, preteen) Super Embroidery Kit
Colorful stitching, bright beads, glittering sequins and projects galore
fill the Super Embroidery Kit. Learn the age old art of stitchery with a
fun, modern twist. The kit includes everything you need to get started
stitching right away - 12 colors of floss, a plastic embroidery hoop,
scissors, needles, ribbon, sequins, buttons, glass beads, flowers, felt
butterflies, five colors of felt, felt shapes, practice cloth, transfer
paper and lots of great project ideas. You can even decorate the
carrying case with all of the wonderful things you’ll learn!
Approximate Price - $19.99
www.alextoys.us
Awards - Dr. Toy's Best Classic Toys, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold
Award, Parents' Choice Award
(elementary, preteen, teens/adults) Roboquad™
It walks. It turns. It waves. It scans. And it even…dances! Roboquad™
combines amazing technology with a sense of humor and adventure.
Roboquad™ uses his advanced built-in IR sensors to interact with his
environment, exploring, investigating and analyzing, even in the dark.
With the multi-function remote, you can control over 70 Roboquad™
actions from movement to emotion, and program sequences of up to 40
commands. Or activate the autonomous mode and let Roboquad™ loose…if you
dare.
Approximate Price - $99.99
www.wowwee.com
(preteen, teen/adult) Perfume Science
Turn a passion for perfume into a scientific exploration for the perfect
scent. Design your own unique perfumes while you learn the science
behind scent, the history of perfume, where the fragrances for perfumes
come from and a little about today’s perfume industry. This
professional-quality kit comes with 8 perfume oils, tools, accessories,
a 48-page instruction manual packed with fun facts and 20 activities to
start your own perfume laboratory.
Approximate Price - $64.95
www.thamesandcosmos.com
Awards - Parents' Choice Award
Games
Spend family time together playing some of these award winning games
(Preschool, elementary) Quack Quack™
Call the animals in from the field…moo, quack, meow. Can you be the
first to match the colors on the dice with the correct animal and
quickly call its name or sound? The colorful wooden pieces and handy
wooden storage box add to the appeal. With this fun game of observation
and imagination the whole family will have a barnyard full of fun!
Approximate Price - $16.95
www.blueorangegames.com
Awards – Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, Canadian Toy Testing
Council Highest Rating, Dr. Toy’s Best Product Winner, Parents' Choice
Award
(Preschool, elementary) Caterpillar Race
Colorful caterpillars race to be first across the finish line. The
question is - which body part will be first – roll the dice and match
the colors to find out. Caterpillar Race is a “fresh new twist” on
teaching color concepts to preschoolers. This delightful game will have
your kids clamoring for buggy fun!
Approximate Price - $12.95
www.edushape.com
Awards – Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award
(Preschool, elementary) Froggie Boogie
Frog-hopping, eye-popping fun at the pond! Froggy Boogie is a
beautifully crafted wooden game with bright colors and comical frogs
that will draw the entire family like flies. Can your baby frog make it
around the pond past all of the sleeping grown-up frogs? Be careful, or
they might just wake up and see you. The trick is to remember which
frogs sleep soundly and which have “eyes in the back of their heads.”
Kids will have laugh-out-loud fun as they hop their way around the lily
pads in this award-winning game.
Approximate Price - $24.95
www.blueorangegames.com
Awards – Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, Parents’ Choice Gold Award,
Parent to Parent Adding Wisdom Award, Major FUN Award, Dr. Toy Best
Product Award Winner, Canadian Toy Testing Council Highest Rating, The
National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, ASTRA “Best-for-Kids” Toy
List
(Preschool, elementary) Feed the Kitty™
Get ready for a quick game of cat and mouse. If the kitty is sleeping,
your mice escape. If he’s hungry, watch out! Your mice might be lunch.
This simple, fast-paced game is perfect for beginning game players and
is entertaining enough to keep older kids and game-weary adults
actively, laughingly involved. Feed the Kitty™ comes with twenty purple
wooden mice, two customized dice and a kitty dish. Get ready to enjoy a
“delicious game of mice and dice.”
Approximate Price - $11.99
www.gamewright.com
Awards – Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, Parents' Choice Approved,
Adding Wisdom Award, Canadian Toy Testing Council Highest Rating,
iParenting Media Award, Dr. Toy's Best Vacation Products
(elementary, preteen, teens/adults) Thataway!™
Which way did Priscilla the Gorilla go? She went Thataway!™ This
fast-paced game of twists and turns will have you laughing out loud as
you look for the runaway ape. Place direction cards down quickly, making
a path to find the gorilla. Did she turn left on her pogo stick or speed
down the street on a tricycle? Capture Priscilla to score big points as
you race this way and Thataway!™
Approximate Price - $5.99
www.gamewright.com
Awards – Major FUN Award, Dr. Toy’s Best Product Winner, iParenting
Media Award, Canadian Toy Testing Council Highest Rating
(elementary, preteen, teens/adults) 30 Second Mysteries™ for Kids
Can you follow the clues to solve the mysteries or use the facts to
figure out the brainteasers? Match your wits against the opposing team
to see who can crack the case. Or, join forces to see how many mysteries
you can unravel together. Use the Giant Mystery Decoder to see if you
sleuthed-out the answer. Kids will be engrossed in seeking solutions to
these fun mysteries while building critical thinking skills. For a
travel version, try the 30 Second Mysteries™ Spinner Book™.
Approximate Price - $21.98
www.universitygames.com
(elementary, preteen, teens/adults) Pete’s Pike™
Only teamwork will get Pete the Mountain Climber to the top of the snowy
peak. He and his cadre of five magical mountain goats must pull together
to succeed. Are you up to the challenge of helping him reach his goal?
Pete’s Pike™ is an innovative one player strategy game created by a
company famous for problem solving games such as Rush Hour™, River
Crossing™ and Tipover™. Pete’s Pike™ includes 40 challenges for beginner
to expert. The game comes with a built-in storage case, making it a
great on-the-go game. Also check out Hot Spot™, winner of over seven
major toy awards.
Approximate Price - $17
www.thinkfun.com
Awards – iParenting Media Award, Parents' Choice Award, National
Parenting Center Seal of Approval
(elementary, preteen, teens/adults) Big Brain Academy™ Board Game
Do you have the biggest brain? Find out when you play Big Brain
Academy™, a board game based on the original best-selling Nintendo™ DS
title. Use speed and accuracy to answer questions in five categories -
Analyze, Compute, Identify, Memorize and Think. Collect chips for
correct answers and then weigh them on the brain-o-meter to see who wins
the title of “Biggest Brain.” Big Brain Academy™ will have players
laughing and thinking as they try to win this brain power race.
Approximate Price - $24.98
www.universitygames.com
Awards – Dr. Toy’s Best Products
(elementary, preteen, teens/adults) Castle Keep™
Build and defend your castle while attacking your foes. In Castle Keep™,
use your wits and strategic skills to design your medieval masterpiece
by matching the color and/or shape of your walls and towers. But beware!
Your opponents seek to destroy you by crushing your castle. Can you
outwit them to complete your castle? This multiple award winner is
simple to learn and is a fun-filled mental jousting challenge for the
whole family.
Approximate Price - $11.99
www.gamewright.com
Awards – Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award, National Parenting
Center Seal of Approval, Dr. Toy's 10 Best Games of the Year/ Top 100
Children's Products, Major Fun Award, Canadian Toy Testing Council
Highest Rating, Parents' Choice Award
(elementary, preteen, teens/adults) Cover Your Tracks™
Don’t leave behind any tell-tale footprints in the mud, sand, snow or
cement. Can you cover your tracks with the four plastic game pieces to
make a clean get-away? Twenty cards provide increasingly challenging
game play as you progress from beginner to expert. Cover Your Tracks™ is
an entertaining and engaging one person game that builds spatial
development and critical thinking skills. The included storage bag makes
this a great travel game.
Approximate Price - $17
www.thinkfun.com
Awards – Dr. Toy’s Best Products, iParenting Media Award, Parents'
Choice Award, National Parenting Center Seal of Approval
(elementary, preteen, teens/adults) Dragonology™, The Game
Traverse the world’s continents, oceans and skies while searching for
dragons. Dragonology™, The Game, based on the NY Times best selling
book, takes you on a high-adventure dragon quest. Use ancient spells and
dragon charms as you pursue knowledge of nine unique species of dragons
including the Frost Dragon, Gargouille, Wyvern and the Marsupial Dragon.
Learn to master any three of the dragons, advance to the dragon’s eye
and you will become the Dragon Master. The game board has the same
beautiful detail featured in the book and comes with an ancient map,
nine exquisitely detailed 3-D dragons and six dragonologist figures.
Also available, award-winning Wizardology™ and Pirateology™ games.
Approximate Price - $29.95
www.sababatoys.com
Awards – Dr. Toy’s Best Products, iParenting Media Award, Parents’
Choice Award
(elementary, preteen, teens/adults) Ringgz™
Can you be the “Lord of the Ringgz™?” Strategically place your
brightly-colored rings on the game board to conquer the most territory
and you win. Deceptively simple, yet increasingly challenging, Ringgz™
has won numerous awards for excellent game play and is an addictive
strategy game for 2-4 players. The beautifully finished, colorful wooden
pieces add to the appeal of this game. Ringgz™ will be a family favorite
for years to come.
Approximate Price - $29.95
www.blueorangegames.com
Awards – Dr. Toy’s Best Vacation Products, Major Fun Award, iParenting
Media Award, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award, Parents’ Choice
Foundation Award, Canadian Toy Council Highest Rating, The National
Parenting Center Seal of Approval, ASTRA “Top 20 Toys”, National
Association for Gifted Children (NAGC)’s Holiday Recommended Toy
(elementary, preteen, teens/adults) Chaos
If your life feels hectic, out of control and sometimes random, then
Chaos is the game for you. This brand-new game is not an award winner
yet, but look for it to win lots of awards next year. The beautifully
crafted wooden game is easy to learn, but can challenge even the master
strategist. Stack disks on the wooden board, making towers 4-high. Your
goal is to place all of your pieces on the game board. Think ahead,
strategize, but beware - the next move may throw your whole plan into
utter chaos.
Approximate Price - $ 24.95
www.mindware.com
Amy Carney Bevins is a freelance writer, magazine editor, educator and
mom. |